


The Assassin and the Engineer

by TheyCallMeLazuli



Series: The Adventures Of GoldenClaw and Crossblade [1]
Category: Transformers, Transformers: Prime
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, OC Hell, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Starscream’s an asshole, Unrequited Love, and falling in love with other cons, crossblade falls and she falls h a r d, meanwhile GC is having an existential crisis, occasional comfort, rip Crossblade the useless gay, rp book, sisterly rivalry, we got bored lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-03 19:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14002785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheyCallMeLazuli/pseuds/TheyCallMeLazuli
Summary: When the Decepticon’s assassin GoldenClaw is paired up with the unhinged engineer Crossblade, and unlikely friendship blooms.





	1. Team Building Exercise

**Author's Note:**

> This is an rp book I co-write with Keo! You can find her on Tumblr at @keo-the-raptor, and on Wattpad as @keo-the-author! GoldenClaw and SilverDart are her OCs, mine is Crossblade. The paragraphs describing Crossblade’s movements are mine, GoldenClaw’s movements Keo’s. Enjoy!

GoldenClaw equipped her rifle onto her back and left her chambers. She was sent on a task by Megatron to scout out a cave filled with various and heavy amounts of energon. It could be useful to the Decepticons. What she didn’t know was that someone was sent to the mission with her for further assistance. Call it a ‘teamwork-exercise.’

Crossblade poked her head out of her workshop when GoldenClaw passed, and followed behind the menacing femme excitedly. She gripped her trusty spear in one hand and a fistful of energon candies in the other. As she ran to catch up, her grin grew wider and wider.

The femme could hear the tapping of noise behind her and took a sideglance to see it was Crossblade. “What are you doing?” She asked, unaware that they were working as a team. “Shouldn’t you be in your little toyshop?”

Crossblade giggled a little and walked a little faster so she was at GoldenClaw's side. "Didn't our lord tell you? We're a team, at least for now." She retracted her blue visor to look up at GoldenClaw, her violet optics bright with anticipation.

“Excuse me?” She looked shocked before narrowing her eyes. “He didn’t inform me I was going on this mission with you. You didn’t persuade him, did you?” As they talked, they headed to the bridge meant to transport them to the cave.

"Of course not! He asked me to go with you." Crossblade stopped in front on the bridge and placed a hand on her hip. "He said it was 'teamwork practice.' I think he just wanted me off the Nemesis."

Goldenclaw groaned and facepalmed. “At least I’d rather be stuck with you than Starscream. The Spark knows what he would do if he tried to take control of this.” She muttered mostly to herself before regaining her composure. Nodding to a subordinate in control of the bridge, it opened up.

She nodded, stepping one foot into the bridge. "He'd probably try to kill you, or he'd try to use you to overthrow Lord Megatron." Crossblade clipped her spear to her hip and popped an energon candy in her mouth. "Well, let's go before Megs shoots at us!" She shot finger guns at GoldenClaw, then jumped through the bridge.

“Either of those would end with him losing his legs.” The femme narrowed her eyes at the thought and shook her head. She seriously couldn’t believe she was stuck with the unhinged mechanic for this. With that thought in mind, she leaped through the bridge as it transported them to a forest.

"Woah! I didn't know earth flora was so pretty!" Crossblade was already climbing one of the trees, examining the leaves. "Are you seeing this?!" She plucked a leaf and stored it in her subspace, the jumped down from the tree.

“Have you not gotten out of the Nemesis before? 31% of this planet has flora like that.” She had to resist the urge to take her rifle and blow Crossblade’s head off, but that was masked with annoyance. “If you’re done sightseeing, I would want to get this over with already.” She didn’t have time to admire something so puny and small.

Crossblade nodded, and lowered her visor again. She seemed to be reading the mission information from the screen. "The cave is supposed to be loaded with energon, but Lord Megatron wants us to male sure the Autobots don't have any territory around the cave." She flipped the visor up and pulled her spear out of it's holster.

“I can arrange that.” Goldenclaw boasted with poison in her voice while she got her rifle out. The cave was in her sights. “Any life-signs detected?”

Crossblade frowned, the groaned. “Yep. Two Autobots, just inside the cave.” She twirled the spear in her hands nervously. “You got a plan?”

Goldenclaw nodded. “Keep yourself out of sight and see who they are. I’ll find an angle to take them down quickly.” She commanded before holding an arm out to the roof of the cave. A magenta-colored energy rope latched onto the roof before she swung up and climbed out of sight.

Crossblade slipped behind a boulder and peeled out to identify the Bots. “The small one is Arcee. She has blades on her forearms but relies on speed to fight. The yellow one is Bumblebee. He’s a scout, but can hold his own in a fight.” She narrowed her optics, but her visor beeped when an unknown energy surge was detected.

 

“Arcee and Bumblebee....Well that’s wonderful. Too bad it isn’t Optimus...” Goldenclaw grinned as she got on an angle that can help her snipe them. Just as she aimed for Arcee’s Head, someone popping in interrupted her.

“There’s more energon deeper in the cave!” A darkish-blue femme bot pointed. She was shorter than Arcee and looked more carefree and young.

Crossblade tilted her head at the newcomer, but stayed behind the rock. Her scanners were locking onto the new femme, but she could not identify her. “Who’s the other one?”

“SilverDart.” Goldenclaw growled. She watched as the femme let her comrades go first before following. “I’m taking the shot.” She informed Crossblade before pulling the trigger.

Silverdart followed behind until she felt something whizz beside her head. Looking to the where it came from, she could see a little light in the dark parts of the cave. “Cons??”

“Frag!” Crossblade raised her spear, visor locking onto SilverDart’s leg. “I can neutralize her, but I’m not much of a fighter.”

“Neutralize her if you must, but leave her alive. She’s mine to destroy.” Goldenclaw ordered her before creating another rope and swinging down.

Silverdart could see the color of the rope and widened her eyes. She looked to her comrades, eyes narrowed in concentration. “Go! I’ll hold them off!” She yelled at them just as she felt someone knock her down. Looking up, she saw it was GoldenClaw before the femme hurriedly got off and chased after Arcee and Bumblebee.

Crossblade stepped out from behind the rock and threw her spear at Bumblebee. It nailed him right leg, and he fell to his knees. Arcee shot wildly, but Crossblade deflected the blasts with her wrist guards. Arcee yelled something into her comm, and a bridge opened up behind her.

Bumblebee looked to the bridge and back to Silverdart, who was currently struggling to fight against Goldenclaw. He beeped to Arcee, as if saying that they need to help her, whilst he tried to stand up. The spear hitting his leg made him struggle.

Crossblade shot at Arcee, but was focused on GoldenClaw. “Claw, catch!” She chucked a small grenade to GoldenClaw, the resumed firing at the Autobots.

The femme caught the grenade and grinned behind her mouth guard before she threw the grenade. They had no choice but to enter the bridge, without Silverdart. 

Crossblade whooped, then pressed a small button on her wrist. Her spear shot out of Bumblebee’s leg and into her hands. She ran to GoldenClaw’s side as the other AutoBots retreated. “Now what?”

“Inform Lord Megatron that the energon cave is now reserved. I’ll...deal with this one.” Goldenclaw didn’t bother to cast Crossblade a side glance as she looked to the small Autobot in front of her.

The little Silverdart glared at the two Decepticons, but she was shaking. She couldn’t call for help, and if it arrived it would be too late. “Please....I don’t want to fight.”

Crossblade commed Megatron, but glanced at the Autobot suspiciously. “The cave is secure. We are just cleaning up the rubble, Lord Megatron.” She turned off her comm, and crouched by Silverdart. She tilted her head as as she examined the small femme, unnerved by her similarity to GoldenClaw.

“Pathetic. To think that even to the last bits of fuel you have, you still refuse to defend yourself.” GoldenClaw scoffed, giving the small femme a kick to her frame hard enough to hit the wall. “That’s what I hated about growing up with you.”

Crossblade stood, crossing her arms. “Hate to break up the party, but we only have a few minutes till Megs gets suspicious.” She popped an Energon lollipop into her mouth, anxiously tapping her foot. “So...we might want to speed things up a little.”

“Fine. I’ll make this quick.” The femme grabbed the smaller by her neck and slammed her to the cave. She applied more pressure and watched Silverdart struggle.  
What they didn’t realize was the bridge came back, and with reinforcements.

“Watch out!” Crossblade turned to defend, but was thrown back by a huge green mech. She yelped in pain, but the force of hitting the wall was too much. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

“What?!” GoldenClaw turned to see who interrupted, only to get knocked back from a blast. She released her grip on SilverDart, who fell into the arms of the green mech. “Son of a glitch...” She growled and went retrieve Crossblade, slinging her arm over her shoulders.

Crossblade was slowly coming back online, but she could barely move. She struggled to lift an arm, but managed to shoot the green mech’s shoulders a few times before giving up.

“Requesting need for a bridge! Now!” GoldenClaw seethed into her comm, glaring at the autobots present. “Call yourself lucky, but one day you’ll run out of that, sister” She hissed and grabbed a grenade from the unconscious deception before throwing it at the enemies.

Silverdart had enough energy to throw one of her signature darts at the grenade, creating a cloud of smoke. When she looked to where they were, the two were gone.

“Ugh...this is why I’m not a fighter...” Crossblade opened one optic and looked at GoldenClaw, smiling sadly. “I need a drink.”

“....So do I.” The femme sighed and kept her partner from falling as a bridge opened and transported them back to the Nemesis. “Have Knockout check for any damage. I’ll report to Lord Megatron on the change of the mission, directly.”

“Got it.” She stood shakily, stretching out her joints. Crossblade put her her spear back on her waist as she shambled to the medic.

GoldenClaw watched Crossblade wall on her own. Once she was out of sight, she took a heavy sigh and walked to the main sector. Megatron would not be happy of their sudden change in report.

~~~

After Crossblade was all fixed up, she returned to her workshop to tinker with her mobility project. But she couldn’t help but feel curious about GoldenClaw’s odd behaviour when faced with SilverDart.

GoldenClaw stayed within her chambers, her rifle hung up as she stared from a window into the clouded sky they flew over. The report to her leader was nerve-wracking, even for an assassin like her. She failed to eliminate the autobots present and failed to reserve the mins as their own. As punishment, she was confiscated from going into missions for a limited amount of time. It didn’t bother her.  
What bothered her most was why she didn’t finish off SilverDart when given the chance.

Crossblade’s project wasn’t working. She was too anxious and too distracted to work. She threw her wrench on the table, wiped the oil off her hands, and quietly made her way to GoldenClaw’s chambers. Crossblade wanted answers.

GoldenClaw stayed motionless near the window until she heard a knock on her door. “Enter.” She called out loud enough for whoever it was to hear.

Crossblade stepped just in the door, awkwardly wringing her hands. “You alright? I’ve never seen you get all...” She fumbled with her words, trying to not offend GoldenClaw. “...Riled up.”

“Fine. Lord Megatron was disappointed that the reserve retrieval was my first failure, so I must try better.” GoldenClaw shrugged. “Why? Is something bothering you on the mission?” She asked, but there was no malice in her voice at the moment.

“The Autobot. The young one. You targeted her, and her alone.” Crossblade rubbed her shoulder, but held her ground. “Lord Megatron will probably pair us up again later, and if you have a vendetta, I won’t get in your way.” Crossblade shrugged nonchalantly.

GoldenClaw met Crossblade’s eyes and stared at them for a long time. She can sense the curiosity and nervous aura she emitted, and then looked away. “She and I have a past, if that was what you were wondering.”

“Alright, but don’t let that consume you.” Crossblade exhaled in relief when GoldenClaw looked away. Reaching into her subspace, she pulled out two energon pops. “Want one? They’re good.”

GoldenClaw looked to the energon pops and raised an eyebrow at the little things, before huffing and swiping one. “Better substitute than the alcoholic kind.” She murmured.

Crossblade grinned, putting her own pop in her mouth. ”Like them? It’s my own recipe.” Crossblade pulled over two chairs, optics sparkling. “So, what’s your story?” She sat down in one chair, smirking.

“Yeah, your story. Everyone had a life before the war, and everyone has a story.” Crossblade crosses her legs and leaned forward to examine GoldenClaw. “I can go first if you want.”

“....Go ahead.” She nodded and listened intently to Crossblade’s story. She did lean back a little when her her comrade moved forward to examine her.

“I was created in the midst of war. As soon as I could move on my own I was abandoned. I spent my days learning to build things to survive, when an Autobot armada took out the warehouse I was squatting in.”

Crossblade’s optics lowered to the floorboards at the memory.

“I was found by the Decepticons, and adopted. After they learned about my skills, I moved up the ladder pretty quickly. Been rolling with the ‘Cons ever since.”

Crossblade motioned to GoldenClaw, expressionless. 

“That’s the short version. Your turn.”

“.....My father joined the Decepticons and left my mother and I. Never came back, even when that autobot, SilverDart, was born. Mother joined father after our homecity was bombed by the Autobots, leaving us as orphans. I grew to hate them, she grew to admire them and ‘just cause’. We chose our paths, and I have been aiming at her spark ever since.” 

Goldenclaw crosses her arms and narrowed her optics at the memories. Memories of her and her little sister coming home to find nothing but ruin, without their matriarch. Memories of their first fight, when they chose their sides.

“Wow. Um. That’s...heavy.” Crossblade rubbed the back of her head, processing GoldenClaw’s story. She reached out a hand, but changed her mind and pulled it back to her lap. “Well. Uh...” She couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Don’t get sentimental on me, Crossblade. I don’t look back, so don’t look back for me as well.” Goldenclaw scolded her, almost like a sister would. She didn’t need anyone’s pity. It was appreciated, but not needed at the moment.

“Okay, if you say so.” Crossblade raised her hands in surrender, but felt a smile growing. She stood and walked to to door. As she opened the door to leave, she turned and looked over her shoulder, grinning. “Hey, if you ever need gear or candy, drop by my workshop.”

“Whatever. Go on out of here.” GoldenClaw waved her away, but as soon as she was gone, she had a little grin on her face. Crossblade may be annoying to her most days, but at least she was good company to be around.


	2. Hourglass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crossblade and GoldenClaw go on a little adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keo, you’re a fucking sadist.

It was late at night on the Nemesis. No con would be out, or if there were, there would be very few awake. Goldenclaw laid out a plan that night. A plan to personally teach her little sister something she will never forget, even beyond the grave. Quietly sneaking out of her chambers, she made her way to go outside of the ship. She would rather not draw attention to the crew if she left in a groundbridge.

Crossblade was awake, furiously scribbling a blueprint for a new weapon when the telltale clicks of a bot walking passed outside. She tilted her head, but quietly stood and peeked out of her workshop. Her optics widened when she saw GoldenClaw sneaking up to the roof of the Nemesis. Crossblade grabbed her spear and followed behind GoldenClaw, rolling on her wheels on her pedes.

The nightly wind on her frame felt cooling to the femme, but she wasn’t on the roof to feel satisfied. She looked around, seeing nobody with her, before she transformed into her alt-mode. It wasn’t the black and gold care she normally sported. It was a jet that was similar to Starscream’s design, but more deadly and graceful.

When Crossblade saw the assassin transform, she froze. The alt mode looked so...deadly...Crossblade took a deep breath, then cleared her throat to alert the femme of her presence. 

“You, uh, want some help?”

GoldenClaw nearly jumped and aimed at whoever was there. At seeing it was Crossblade, she groaned. “What in Unicron’s name are doing up here? And why would you ask if I needed help?”

Crossblade poked her forefingers together, looking away. “You looked like you were going to do something important. I guessed it has something to do with your sister. And...” Crossblade clenched her hands into fists, grinning as she stared GoldenBlade in the optics. 

“I want to help! I never get of the ship, and this will be good fighting practice.”

She was shocked by the sudden excitement in her voice. “Keep your voice down!” She scolded and looked around, still in alt-mode. With a sigh, she responded. “If you’re going to help, you better have something useful in mind. Can you fly?”

Crossblade’s shoulders sagged. “No, but I do know a faster way to get down. Without a bridge!” She grinned again, sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. Crossblade ran up to the edge of the ship, rubbed her hands together, and swan dived off.

“Of course.” Goldenclaw groaned before flying away from the ship. “Follow these coordinates. They should lead you to a human town.” She sent the coordinates to her partner before beginning to fly in the direction of said town.

Crossblade grunted in confirmation, then pulled a small wire from her chassis. Two prototype wings released and caught the air, and Crossblade glidedto the ground. As soon as she landed, she transformed to her alt mode and sped off in the directions of the coordinates.

~~~

It took a while, but they got to the town. Goldenclaw transformed into her bipedal mode and signaled Crossblade to stop at the edge of the town. “Alright, I was planning on doing this myself, but maybe you can be useful. Little sister is apparently in charge of babysitting a human. She follows orders to the Autobots as smoothly as energon, however.....the human being in danger is something she can’t refuse to risk.”

Crossblade returned to her regular mode, and waited at the city limit sign. “What do you have in mind?” She was tapping her fingers on her forearms, curious.

“I will enter first to gain her attention. Wait for my signal and head to the coordinates I will send. If you can, try to retrieve the human girl she protects. She’s not hard to miss.” The femme grinned to her comrade before transforming into her alt-mode, the golden and black car. “And one more thing. Try to make a glass case, and find scrap. Sharp scrap.”

Crossblade chuckled darkly, smirking as she realized GoldenClaw’s plan. As she searched for someplace abandoned, she commed back. 

“You sadistic genius.”

“I know I am.”

At the house of Tia Willows, Silverdart kept watch for any activity near her friend’s house. She kept still in alt-mode, watching for sign of danger. Passing light beeped into her view and she saw it was a regular car. Thinking it was nothing, she didn’t mind....for the first few minutes. She started to notice how the care frequently came back every 10 minutes. Suspicious, she began to follow.

Seeing her follow, Goldenclaw smirked dastardly. “She’s following me. Go now, and try to stay out of sight.”

“Got it. The case is in the abandoned warehouse on the south side of town. Meet me there.” Crossblade transformed and began to follow the human, her engine purring quietly. Just as the human noticed, she transformed back and picked up the small human, covering the girl’s mouth with a servo. She sprinted down an alleyway, using the buildings to hide her as she ran to the warehouse.

When Tia heard her friend suddenly leaving, she stepped outside of her house. “SD?” She wondered, her bare feet meeting the ground as she tried to listen for her friend. Instead, she heard the purring of a motorcycle. “Arcee? Is that you?” The blind girl turned to look, but gasped when she felt someone pick her up. That wasn’t Arcee. This was someone bad.

“I’ll be right there.” Goldenclaw sent out before continuing the chase. She drove until they were near the abandoned warehouse, where her sister thought to have caught her in a dead-end.

“There’s no use in trying to run away. What do you want with my human?” Silverdart asked, transforming into her bipedal mode.

“.....The better question is.” She can feel her sister freeze at the voice as she also transformed. “Why did you believe it was a good idea to leave her?”

Crossblade slipped into the warehouse, and dropped the kid into an hourglass, shaking a container of sharp scrap metal. “Sorry, kid. Nothing personal.” She places the container of scrap next to the hourglass, smirking.

The little girl cried out as she felt something sharp on her feet. Glass. “Please let me go! M-My feet!” She begged, feeling around for an exit, not realizing she was trapped in an hourglass. “SD!!!” She tried to call for help.

“....Tia....” Silverdart began to shake before she let out a warcry and tackled her sister. “What did you do?! Where is she?!” All she received was a smirk, making the younger groan in frustration before letting go of her driving back to her home while informing the autobots of her human’s disappearance.

“What an idiot....” Goldenclaw chuckled while beginning to travel to the warehouse Crossblade informed her of. At seeing the girl trapped in an hourglass, she grinned. “Well done.”

Crossblade grinned lopsidedly, walking to GoldenClaw. “I haven’t added the metal yet, figured we should wait for dramatic effect.” She turned back and crouched down next to the hourglass, eyeing the human. “Why is it so...puny?”

“I don’t see the point, but if you insist.” She shrugged and inspected the hourglass. “It’s a human. They’re all puny. This one is no different.” Goldenclaw rolled her optics, feeling nothing when the little girl yelped from the glass piercing into her feet while she felt around with her hands.

“They’re definitely smaller than the ones I’ve seen.” Crossblade tapped the glass a few times, then got bored and stood up. She tapped a pede impatiently, grumbling. “When do you think the bots are gonna show up?”

“Well, then it’s going to die faster than an average human.” She remarked nonchalantly before smirking. “No bots. Just her. And she knows it. They all expect this to be a trap, but it’s a trap that’s worth taking if she means that much to her.”

It didn’t take long before a car barged in and transformed into her sibling. “Goldenclaw....” Silverdart growled before spotting her human. At seeing how wounded her feet and hands were, she snarled. “Let her go.”

“Let me think about it...yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me, sweetspark. GoldenClaw, what do you think?” Crossblade picked up the crate full of scrap metal and poured it into the top of the hourglass. Small bits of pointy metal began to fall through the tiny hole and into the human, making Crossblade grin.

“That’s a no for me too.” The elder sister shrugged and walked around the hourglass. “Seems we won’t be letting her go.”

“Then I’ll have to *make* you or do it myself.” Silverdart growled and charged forward, meeting blows with Goldenclaw.

“You’ll have to last if you want to do that.” She grinned before giving a kick to her frame. Thus, the two began to quarrel brutally.

Tia flinched at the feeling of something pointy falling in her head. “W-What is that? What’s going on?? S-SilverDart? W-Where are you?”

“I’m right here, love! I’ll be there in just a-“ The autobot femme was cut off by an elbow to the head.

“...I forgot humans can’t see in the dark.” Crossblade reached over to flip on the lights, hoping Tia would see her Autobot defender being pummeled mercilessly. 

“Like what you see, kid?” Crossblade asked, smirking. She raised an arm and fired at SilverDart, knocking the young femme off balance.

“I-I can’t see....I-I’m blind.” Tis had the nerve to inform her. She could see heavily blurry figures, mostly blue and black.

Silverdart yelped and got on a knee, leaving Goldenclaw to kick her in the face. The claws on her servos hooked onto her chest-frame, before she began to repeatedly kick her gut with the spike on her knee-frames. “Isn’t this sad? You’re not only failing at trying to defeat me, but you’re failing at being the defender of Humans you so righteously claim to do.” She stepped on the side of her face with her heel. “You can’t even help a puny little human. That’s disappointing, sister.”

“W-What are you doing to her? S-Stop it!” The little girl pleaded, but it was a cry on deaf ears. She flinched not only from the sharp bits falling and beginning to fill her cage, but from the sound of something being broken repeatedly.

“Whoops, sorry kiddo. But I highly recommend you shut up before GoldenClaw decides to shoot you.” Crossblade pulled out her spear, and snuck behind SilverDart. With the sharp tip, she sliced SilverDart’s knee joints, making the femmes legs give out.

The femme gave a painful cry. It was the cry of someone who knew this pain every day. This was the cry of a rookie, of someone young and knowing true failure. “D-Don’t.....don’t hurt her....” She rasped out, trying to reach for the girl in the hour glass. She cried out when he hand was trampled on.

“Will that really be your last words, sister?” Goldenclaw sighed, taking out her rifle to aim at her head. Her finger was on the trigger.

Then Silver began to laugh. It was faint, but she heard it as clear as energon.

“What’s so funny.”

Crossblade frowned, standing up and pointing her spear at SilverDart. The Autobot’s laughter was unsettling. 

“...What the frag...” She muttered, glancing at GoldenClaw nervously.

“It’s....kinda...s-silly....” Silverdart admitted, “After....a-all these eons.....y-you’re....still...c-calling me s-sister....even...a-after I stopped.” She looked into her sibling’s eyes. They were wide with shock.

Goldenclaw can’t afford to hesitate again. Shaking off that armor-piercing statement, she took aim in between her eyes, before she heard honking outside of the warehouse.

Tia gasped at the noise. “O-Optimus!” Relief was in her voice.

“Welp! We’re fragged!” Crossblade slipped her spear back into its holster, grinning so wide it looked painful. “Take the shot, and lets go!” Crossblade was eyeing the warehouse door, arms raised and her blasters charged.

It felt like an eternity for Goldenclaw to take the shot. She was waiting countless eons for this, and now she hesitates?!? She hated it. She hated how Silver looked at her dead in the optics. She wasn’t afraid of death. Why wasn’t she afraid?!?

Frustrated, Goldenclaw did shoot, but didn’t look to where. “Let’s go! It’s been done!” She nodded and made a hole on the roof before transforming and flying out of there.

Crossblade jumped up and climbed up onto the roof, waving at GoldenClaw. “I cant fly, Claw!” She jumped up and down, but yelled when the Autobots started firing through the roof. “L-little help here?!”

“For frag’s sake-“ The femme growled and swooped down low enough for Crossblade to latch onto her before they fled.

 

~~~

 

Silverdart whimpered and covered her optic as she tried to get up. With the support of Ratchet, she managed to move with as little pain as she could endure, while she heard her human get free of the trap. “SD! A-Are you okay?? A-Are you hurt too much?!?”

“Haha......I can’t see....o-out of my l-left optic....but I’ll...b-be alright....”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehehehe


	3. Life on the Nemesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slice of life and romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun to do!

Crossblade was on a break, so she decided to walk around the Nemesis for a little while. As she strolled, she heard two loud voices arguing. Crossblade turned into the room, and spotted Starscream, well, screaming at GoldenClaw.

“You are a pompous, pathetic excuse for a Decepticon! How dare you mutter insults under your breath when I look away?!”

“Yeah, says the shrill-voiced midget trying to get under my frame.” Goldenclaw didn’t even look down at Starscream, instead too busy paying attention to her servos than anything. “Plus, I’m not the one insulting our Lord Megatron when he’s looking away, am I?”

Crossblade snickered, then walked into the room attempting to look as professional as possible. 

“Commander Starscream, Knockout requests your assistance. He says it’s of upmost importance.” 

Crossblade crosses her arms behind her back and bit her glossa to stop herself from grinning. Starscream growled but donors off to the medic’s office. 

“Let me catch you disrespecting your superiors again, GoldenClaw, and I’ll rip off your wings.” He seethed, pointing at her with a sharp claw.

Goldenclaw hummed. Even though her mask covered her mouth, you can feel her smirking as she moved Starscream’s Claw from her face. Once he was gone, she walked over to Crossblade. “If he can reach my wings in the first place. What a shrew.”

“Primus, I hate him.” Crossblade smirked back, optics wide in excitement. “What’d you say that got him so mad?”

The femme shrugged. “He was badmouthing Lord Megatron again and I just so happened to be right behind him. If he was gonna act like a sparkling, I might as well act like one too to show how childish he sounds.” She rolled her eyes. “That high-heeled junkface tries so hard sometimes. It’s sad.”

Crossblade put her hands on her hips. “Hey, don’t trash heels. Have you seen mine?” Her voice was mock-angry, but she couldn’t help herself from grinning. 

“Besides, what if he becomes the ruler of the Decepticons? It’s not like he’s tried like thirty times already and failed miserably.”

“Yes, but there’s a different between trashing heels, and actually making them work.” She retorted, a smirk being felt from underneath her mouth-Guard. At the what-if question Crossblade asked, Goldenclaw rolled her optics hard and facepalmed. “The day he becomes ruler of The Decepticons is the day I’ll gladly sink in the deepest part of this organic planet.”

Crossblade nodded, pulling some more energon candies out of her subspace. She sucked on a smaller candy and offered a lollipop to GoldenClaw. 

“I have a bunch and I can’t eat them all. Have one.”

As she plopped down on a counter and savoured her candy, she muttered to herself. 

“Why are the hot ones so obnoxious...” She asked herself, glancing in the direction the irritating commander had stormed off to.

“Of course you do.” Goldenclaw rolled her eyes and deactivated her mouth guard. She ate the lollipop and leaned on the wall, until she heard what her friend said. “....Did I hear you say hot?”

Crossblade shot up, sitting straight as a board. Her face place heated, and her pupils shrunk. “What?! No, what are you talking about?” She cursed under breath, and grabbed another candy and shoved it into her mouth.

“I’m pretty certain you just called Starscream hot.” Goldenclaw stated, pop in her mouth while she grinned. Without her mouth guard, it can clearly be seen. It was teasing and smug. “You’re gonna give your denta cavities with that.”

“Shut up...” Crossblade buried her face in her hands, groaning. She crunches on the candy, grumbling to herself. “I don’t care about cavities and I definitely don’t like the commander!”

“Keep telling yourself that.” The femme hummed smugly before chewing on the sweet once it was thin enough. “I’m gonna go see what Knockout is up to. Maybe your hot commander might still be there~”

Crossblade gasped, narrowing her optics in offence. “I am going to-“ She scrambled off the counter and followed GoldenClaw, faceplate still overheating. “W-wait for me!”

She took notice of her faceplate and gave a smug smile. “Better fix your overheating. He might notice.” Goldenclaw pointed out casually.

“I will kill you.” Crossblade took a moment to vent out the hot air, then resumed rolling by GoldenClaw’s side. “If you tell anyone I’ll never build you gear.” Crossblade threatened, baring her teeth.

“If you can reach up to my spark first.” She added before raising an eyebrow.   
“Do that, and I’ll find all of your energon sweets and throw it overboard.” She retorted back humorously, grin still on her face before she covered it with her mouth guard.

“You wouldn’t dare!” Crossblade lightheartedly punched GoldenClaw’s arm, then rolled ahead into Knockout’s office. Knockout and Screamer were arguing over why Starscream was supposed to be there.

For the first time, Goldenclaw laughed, if only for a short while, at the punch. It stopped when she took note of the two cons arguing, where she leaned at the doorway and watched as they argued. She almost wished she brought some human popcorn.

Knockout was facepalming, his frustration apparent. Starscream stopped when he saw Crossblade, and pointed a servo accusingly. 

“You! You said that Knockout needed me here!” 

Crossblade shrugged, smirking. “Look, a Vehicon told me. Don’t shoot the messenger.” 

Starscream growled, but stormed off again to pout.

As soon as he left, Goldenclaw smirked. “He’s gonna be looking all day for that ‘vehicon’.” She murmured to Crossblade before sighing and looking to Knockout. “How is your day going by the way, Knockout?”

Knockout sighed, waving a hand in the air. “Horrible. Screamer decided to barge in while I was working, yelling about how I needed his assistance. He gets on my nerves.” 

Crossblade shook her head empathetically. She also sidled up to Knockout, smiling innocently and clutching her hands together. 

“Knockout, would you be a dear and let me borrow some polish? I need it for a project of mine.” 

She grinned expectantly, looking up at the red medic.

“He gets on everyone’s nerves, even Soundwave.” Goldenclaw shrugged, before looking at Crossblade. “What’s the project this time?”

Crossblade pushed herself onto the medical table, sitting crossed legged with a twinkle in her optic. “I’m glad you asked!” She pulled a large rolled up blueprint out her subspace, and placed it on the table. 

“I’m gonna make predacon-inspired wings, custom made to fit my build and use them to fly!”

Goldenclaw looked at the blueprint and her friend. “That’s....not a bad idea. How do you know it will work, however? Predacon wings, or predacons in general, are rather complex creatures.” She questioned.

“It’s simple! I just need the image, the rest is replicating joints and modelling them off earth-based creatures! Then I just had to scale it!” Crossblade shoved the blueprint back in her subspace, grinning.

“Well, as long as it will work, I don’t see much harm. Be sure to test it once it’s finished however.” She warned Crossblade like she was a child before remembering something. “Actually, speaking of polish, I’ll need some for my rifle too. I haven’t used it in a while....”

Knockout crossed him arms, moving in front of the polish. “Oh no. This is my polish, and I’m not just going to give it away.”

Crossblade glanced at GoldenClaw, then pulled out her spear. “Just give us the polish, and no one gets hurt.”

“You won’t even realize its gone, chérie. Plus you have loads of polish. Two missing won’t be so bad.” She attempted to persuade him. Unlike Crossblade, she didn’t need to use a weapon. If things got nasty, she could fight without them.

Knockout scooped the polish into his arms, curling protectively around it. “No!” Crossblade pointed her spear, optics narrowed. “Don’t test me! I’m three ounces of whoop-aft!”

“Please, mon chéri? We don’t gotta fight over something small.” She cocked her hip to the side and smirked underneath her mouth guard. “If we have to fight, that’d probably ruin your paintjob. Maybe even damage the scratch over there.” She pointed to his shoulder. No scratch could be seen, but that’s the point of being a deception.

Knockout jumped back, but his vanity won. “Fine, take the polish...but don’t use all of it!” Crossblade smirked, grabbing the polish and handing a bottle to GoldenClaw.

Knockout huffed, then began to shoo them out of the room. “Yeah, yeah, whatever! Out, I need to work.” Crossblade giggled, rolling backwards out of the room.

Goldenclaw waved before leaving the medic room. She twirled the bottle in her hand. “I can’t believe I called him a charmer. I’m likely never going to live that down.” She sighed and rubbed a servo to her optics.

“At least I’m not the only one attracted to the higher ups!“  
Crossblade slapped her hands over her mouth, realizing what she just said. She ran back to the break room, internally screaming.

The femme stiffened and gripped her face before looking to Crossblade. Her mouth guard hid the giant smile in her face. “I apologize, can you repeat that, Crossblade? I didn’t hear you.” She asked in a sickly-sweet tone before chasing after the smaller femme in a march. “Where are you going? I won’t harm you! I just want you to meet my automatics! They’re dying to hear what you said!”

The femme scrambled over to the break room and she drifted into the closet. Crossblade slammed the closet door shut, and hid behind a stack of energon cubes. “You heard nothing!” She yelled through the door, vents whirring loudly.

“Are you sure? I’m pretty sure I heard something about me, and being attracted to someone.” Goldenclaw searched around the breakroom for her. Hearing nothing but the whirring, she smirked. “Hm. I guess she’s not in here.” She faked while silently sticking an energy rope on the roof and carefully hid above the closet door.

Crossblade sighed with relief, then snuck out of the closet. She took a deep breath, and shakily pulled an energon lollipop out and shoved it in her mouth. “I’ve gotta stop thinking out loud...”

“You really should.” Goldenclaw agreed before jumping from the ceiling onto her friend and pinning her down. “You wanna take that back now, Crossblade?”

Crossblade screamed, squirming under GoldenClaw. “This isn’t fair! Let me go!” She struggled, but couldn’t free herself. “I don’t know what you’re even talking about!”

“Apologize and I might consider it.” She shrugged while continuing to hold her down. “Oh you know leaking well what you said, Crossblade. Apologize right now!”

Crossblade stuck her glossa out defiantly, shaking her head. “No! I won’t apologize for telling the truth!” Suddenly she grinned, and press a small button on her leg. Howls echoed throughout the Nemesis, and a robotic hound made of scrap metal and biolights pounced on GoldenClaw, knocking her off Crossblade. Crossblade scrambled to get feet, laughing.

“I am victorious!”

Goldenclaw grunted as she got pinned by the hound. “Fun. I am defeated by a hound made of scraps.” She stated sarcastically. “Will you call it off?”

Crossblade nodded, but was still smirking. “Only if you don’t tackle me again.” She clapped her hands twice, and the hound backed off and ambled back to the workshop. Crossblade offered a hand to help GoldenClaw up, smiling warmly.

“No promises, but alright.” The femme huffed and took her hand before getting back up. “What was that hound? It’s unlike one I’ve seen before.”

“That was Scrapper! He was a guard dog, but now he’s just my pet. I built him to protect my prototypes when I was a kid.” Crossblade rubbed the back of her head bashfully.

“Adorable and full of slobber too.” Goldenclaw hummed and wipes her faceplate from any leak the hound growled at her with. “You two have stuck around for a while, haven’t you?”

Crossblade nods, smiling fondly at the memories. “He’s one of my favourite inventions, and he’s practically sentient.” Crossblade glanced at the schedule on her visor, and groaned when she read the next activity. “Bleh, we have debriefing in a few minutes. Ready for an hour of listening to Screamer bicker with Shockwave?”

Goldenclaw felt a moment of sentiment and recalled a memory of the past, but it went away quickly. That was soon replaced with displeasure. “Nobody is ever ready for their debates. I’d honestly fight Arachnid for eons than handle an hour of listening to those two sparklings argue.”

Crossblade turned and rolled off to the debrief room, shaking her head. “Shockwave is a jerk. I know he relies on logic, but doesn’t he realize that doing things for emotional health helps your logic?” She sighed, flipping up Her visor and popping a candy in her mouth.

“I have never spoke with Shockwave, nor do I intend to in the future. He sounds boring, even for me. And I’m a very boring person.” Goldenclaw shrugged. “Though, you’re right on one point. Doing things for the emotion can help you function...”

“You’re not boring, you’re reserved. There’s a difference.” Crossblade slid into the room at sat at her seat, ignoring Starscream’s disapproving stares. 

“You two are late.”

“That’s nice of you to say, Crossblade.” She smiled a little underneath the mask before it went away at seeing Starscream. “Yeah, by 10 seconds.” She muttered while sitting next to Soundwave.

“You are still late.” Megatron reprimanded, scowling. He began his speech, ranting about how no one has made any progress. Crossblade was tuning him out, but smiled when she quickly sent GoldelClaw a private text message. “I am this close to falling asleep.”

Goldenclaw wasn’t tuning anything Megatron said, until she saw the message her friend sent. She smiled underneath her mouthguard and sent back, “Don’t. You’re gonna wake up without a spark if you do.” She glanced at the femme before looking around. Knockout was scowling at her. It seems he figured out her little trick from earlier.

Crossblade fought to keep herself silent, but the biolights on her legs were glowing in amusement. She met GoldenClaw’s eye, the noticed Knockout’s stare. She winked at him, but Megatron noticed. 

“Crossblade! What are you looking so pleased about!” He growled, unamused. Crossblade froze, but shakily responded. 

“My current project has been progressing smoothly, and I believe I just figured out how to smooth out the final kinks.” She glanced at GoldenClaw, silently begging for help.

‘Oh Slag.’ Goldenclaw widened her eyes, barely, and cleared her throat to gain their leader’s attention. “We were discussing on partnering up for the final stages of her project. I’ll assist Crossblade on the minor details before it will be finished.” She lied cleanly and clearly through her denta, looking at the scared femme.

“I will need her assistance to check the structural integrity of the design, and to see if I can maneuver while using the gear effectively.” Megatron eyed the two of them suspiciously, but moved on. Starscream was seething, but Shockwave weighed in. “That sounds logical.” 

The meeting carried on for a little while longer, but once the possible battle plans were discussed everyone was dismissed.

‘Thank you for the support, Shockwave.’ Goldenclaw mentally thanked as the meeting carried forward. As soon as it was over, she got up and left along with Crossblade. “Well, that went well.”

Crossblade was shaking, optics wide. “I think I just had a spark attack.” She turned to GoldenClaw, shaking her arm. “Thank you, I owe you one.” She took a deep breath, but was smiling in relief.

“If you actually had one. It could save your life.” GoldenClaw didn’t emote when she thanked and shook her arm. “No trouble. Though, do try not to get into that much trouble again.” She smiled underneath the mouthguard.

Crossblade tried to reply, but Starscream interrupted. 

“Femmes, Lord Megatron has a mission you. Go meet him in exactly thirty minutes.” 

Crossblade found herself staring as he sauntered away, and sighed sadly. “The hot ones are always afts...” She murmured.

Goldenclaw chuckled a little. “Unfortunately, but you’ll get used to it. Soon, I hope. Though, I wonder what this mission will be.” She wondered. At least she knows not to fail again like last time. With her sister out of the way, she will be nothing but focused.

Crossblade stuck her glossa out, and poked Claw’s arm. “Shut up.” She began to walk to her workshop, waving GoldenClaw along. “C’mon, I have a gift for you!”

Goldenclaw blinked, a little curious as to what she was talking about, before she followed along. “What is this gift?”

“How do you feel about a laser cannon?” Crossblade stepped into her workshop, beckoning GoldenClaw inside. “I have a smaller version that might suit you.” She motioned to a gold and black cannon, downsized enough that Claw could carry it comfortably.

The femme was surprised by the weapon and walked around it, amazement in her optics. “It’s beautiful...” She murmured before carrying the weapon. It was light and snug within her arm. “When did you have the time to create this?”

Crossblade grinned, hands on her hips proudly. “Insomnia’s a glitch!” She picked up a package and tossed it at GoldenClaw. “Here, specialized ammo.”

She caught the ammo and loaded some into the cannon. “I might test this during the mission if it’s required.” She commented before looking at the femme. “Thank you. Now I feel like I owe you one.”

Crossblade waved her hand dismissively. “Nah, I make gear for people I like. No big deal. But we ought to report to Lord Megatron now.” She picked up some grenades from her work table and clipped them to her belt, then skated out of the workshop, grinning excitedly.

“I’ll meet you there. I need to grab my rifle just in case.” Goldenclaw waved off before she went her own direction and went into her chambers. As her hand reached the weapon, the memory of that night went through her head. Shaking it off, she grabbed the weapon and latched it to her back. “I’m not going to be haunted.” The femme murmured before reporting to Megatron.

Crossblade was already standing before Megatron, waiting for GoldenClaw. 

“GoldenClaw, Crossblade, I have reason to believe that the Autobots have a new recruit. You two are two learn as much as you can about the recruit, and damage their forces as much as possible.” 

Crossblade nodded, although she was shaking slightly. “Yes, Lord Megatron.”

Goldenclaw bowed to her leader before they left. As soon as they were out of sight, she frowned. Another autobot?

Crossblade signalled Soundwave, and a bridge opened. As soon they stepped through, she sighed heavily. “Lord Megatron probably learned about SilverDart, but...he doesn’t know.” Crossblade sat on a rock in the desert they had been dumped into, deep in thought.

“.....He doesn’t need to know.” Goldenclaw sighed and sat down with her. “.....We don’t speak of it to anyone. Not even Soundwave or Megatron.” She stated with an empty voice.

“Yeah, but what if she’s...” Crossblade trailer off, her processor whirring. “What if our little expedition failed?”

“....What?” Goldenclaw blinked. “It couldn’t have failed. I shot her her point blank between the eyes.” She explained.

Crossblade stared at the ground, tapping her feet as she tried to think. “I saw you. You didn’t look where you were shooting. What if...you missed?” Crossblade looked up at the taller femme, her fear apparent.

“....No. No, I couldn’t have missed. I shot her point-blank. I didn’t feel my arm move I...” Goldenclaw went hysterical for a moment before she went silent. Her optics were wide while she covered her mouthguard. “I.....I missed.....Why...?”

Crossblade took GoldenClaw’s hand, trying to calm her down. “That’s not the problem right now. Everyone misses, even you. Right now we have mission, and an Autobot to investigate.” She patted Claw’s back soothingly.

“....Right. Right.” Goldenclaw tried to regain her composure before she got up and transformed into her alt-mode. She could see a familiar black and blue car drive outside. They had to follow her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drama! *jazz hands*


	4. Emotions are Overrated Anyway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They mull things over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a comfort chapter uwu

The mission was decent. They gathered as much intel as they could in Silverdart, but Goldenclaw already knew much about her. They followed her in her patrol with a yellow autobot without being noticed. In their mission, to get out of killing her again, the femme proposed to her leader a ‘better’ way of disposing the recruit, but needed time to do so. She would give Megatron a debrief of what they learned the next day.

When they came back to the Nemesis, Goldenclaw looked exhausted. Emotionally.

Crossblade noticed GoldenClaw’s exhaustion, and patted her back sympathetically. She silently offered a candy, not sure how to break the silence.

Goldenclaw looked to the other’s form of comfort and took her offer. With a quiet thanks, she began to walk away. She needed time to herself. A good amount of time.

Crossblade sighed, but returned to her workshop. As she rolled, she couldn’t help but feel worried for GoldenClaw. Claw was a loner, and the whole SilverDart dilemma could cause Claw to cut herself off again. Crossblade was determined to help her, but also incredibly awkward.

The femme entered her chamber and dropped the cannon and rifle she carried with her to the mission. It wasn’t a failure, but it certainly wasn’t a success. If anything, she was buying time for herself and her sister. One day, she will have to prove her complete loyalty to the Decepticons. One of these days, she will have to kill her sister, and make sure her spark doesn’t light up. The only question she had was, if she could do it.   
The question itself made Goldenclaw hug herself as she knelt down by the window and watched the ship fly over the clouds. She was shaking terribly and curled into herself. She truly didn’t know if she had the spark to even face her sister again.

Crossblade paced around her workshop, fidgeting with the wrench in her hands. The framework of her wings was done, but it didn’t seem as important as it had a few hours ago. Crossblade chucked the wrench on the floor and grabbed a filthy rag, wiping off the oil that seemed to accumulate in her shop. She then lay on her berth, staring at the ceiling. 

“How do I fix this?” She thought, absentmindedly patting Scrapper.

Goldenclaw didn’t move from her spot in what felt like forever. She didn’t realize the leaking her optics emitted. It was so foolish of her to cry. She thought those tears were gone permanently when she lost her creators. However, even the thought of losing her own enemy sister got to her. Starscream was right. She is a pathetic excuse of a decepticon.

Crossblade felt her spark sinking, and forced herself up. Anxiety wasn’t uncommon for the femme, but this bout felt harder to handle than normal. She slipped off the berth, and began to wander the Nemesis. She found herself in the break room, sitting at table and tapping her claws on her wrist guards.

The tears weren’t worth being wasted over. She needed a drink. Wiping them away as quickly as possible, she regained her composure and walked out of her chambers. Thankfully, not a lot of cons were out. That gave her the best time to retrieve a sizable bottle full of energon. It was exactly what she needed.

Crossblade groaned, and got up from the table. She stared at her feet as she walked out, not noticing the mech who had just walked into. She ran into his chassis, and jumped back in embarrassment.

Goldenclaw opened up the bottle and was already scarfing down a fraction of it. She didn’t feel the alcoholic parts enter her system yet, but it’ll take a while. She could hear someone apologizing as she turned a corner, but she hid from sight first.

“Really, mechanic? How thick are you?” Starscream chastised, his voice filled with venom. Crossblade’s   
faceplate was hot, and she had her hands raised in apology. 

“Commander, I’m so sorry, I should’ve bee-!” 

Starscream cut her off with a sigh, glaring down at the small femme.

Goldenclaw glared at the voice. If he tried to hurt her friend, so help her. She completely forgot about the energon and set it down while she watched what happened, waiting for a moment to intervene.

Starscream began to scold Crossblade, his wings up high with amusement. Crossblade was shaking, pulling her hands to her chest and slowly rolling back. Every time she tried to speak, he would cut her off, and insult her.

‘Okay-no.’ Goldenclaw huffed and turned the corner, as if she wasn’t watching them. When she met eyes with them, she raised an eyebrow. “What the frag are you doing?” She crossed her arms while glaring at Starscream.

Starscream clenched fists, glaring back at GoldenClaw. “The idiot mechanic ran into me and wouldn’t apologize! As second in command, it is my duty to ensure all of the Decepticons are kept in check.”

Crossblade sighed in relief as he turned away from her, taking deep breaths to cool herself down.

“Maybe if you shut your motormouth for two seconds, she would have apologized.” Goldenclaw refuted back. “It’s no-doubt a long night for the both of us after our mission, so is it not that simple to ask for none of your slag, just for tonight?”

Starscream puffed his chest out, optics furious. “I am your superior officer, and you will treat me as such!” Crossblade signalled GoldenClaw, with a shaky smile. She pretended to be receiving a comm, then carefully tapped Starscream’s back. 

“S-sir? GoldenClaw and I have to report back to our chambers. Claw has to train, and I have to work.”

“When you learn to treat your subordinates as equals, first.....” The femme rolled her optics and looked to her friend before nodding. “Well, it seems we will have to continue this argument for another time. Have a swell night, midgetscream.” She waved off before leaving. “You too, Crossblade. Have a good night.”

“Of course GoldenClaw.” Crossblade slipped around Screamer, then began to roll off and followed GoldenClaw. She sprinted over, then skidded to a stop in front of her. Crossblade tried to say something, but could only stutter out thanks.

The femme nearly jumped at the sudden intrusion, but sighed and nodded. “It’s nothing. I didn’t want someone to deal will junkslag for the night. Especially a good friend.” She bent down to pat the smaller femme’s head. “Go rest. You’re tired and I’m slightly intoxicated and need to get it out of my system.”

“You’re a godsend, Claw. I need to make you more gear.” Crossblade smiled, waving as she rolled off to her workshop.

She watched her leave before continuing back into her chambers. Once she was in, she sighed and laid on her berth. All she could do was stare up at the ceiling of her chambers, waiting for her body to shut down and rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to give Keo a follow!


	5. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claw really ought to get more sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ones a bit of a comfort chapter!

Crossblade has gotten up early, and was sipping on cube of energon while she stared out the small window in her workshop. She had gotten a good sleep for the first time in years, and the energon has processed nicely. As she tapped her foot and finished the cube, she felt her thoughts drifting to SilverDart. 

And SilverDart’s effect on GoldenClaw.

The effects of her reckless goal to kill her sister was beginning to take its toll. Goldenclaw has been getting nightmares of if she succeeded and how she would have lived with herself. She hasn’t gotten something close to good sleep in days, too haunted by the hushed voices of the dead. To try and work around this, she went to practice aiming with her rifles. Even her skill has been affected.

Crossblade sighed, and set her cube down. As much as she loved the quiet, it was becoming stifling. Crossblade picked up her spear and rolled to a place where she could train. If she was going to be GoldenClaw’s partner, she had to fend for herself. She slipped into the small gym, ignoring the Vehicons that used the gym to slack off. She pulled up a basic hologram, and began to run through some drills.

The tolls of the nightmares got so bad that Goldenclaw would sometimes hallucinate. When Starscream took notice of what’s been happening to her, the femme nearly snapped and would have ripped him apart had it not been for intervention. She tried to take her mind off of this by aiming at a target dummy and shooting.

When she looked to what she actually shot, she huffed. She missed.

Crossblade panted, but was rather satisfied with her efforts. She had taken down seven ‘enemies’ in a row, and had only been hit a few times. She grinned, then turned off the holograms. Crossblade slipped the spear back in its holster, then rolled to the training dummies. She propped up a dummy, and took aim with her small blasters. 

She had skimmed the dummy’s side, but that wasn’t good enough.

As a matter of fact, Goldenclaw inspected all of her dummies. All of the bullets aimed for nothing fatal or even at the wall. Heavily annoyed and confused to a panic by this, she decided try and shoot from a different angle. She propped herself on the ledge above the targets and took aim for a dummy behind the head. “There we go....” She murmured, satisfied that she wasn’t losing her streak.

What she didn’t expect was to see her sister turn to look at her. She looked damaged beyond repair; dead. 

The sight made the femme gasp and pull back while shooting. The bullet aimed nowhere near her target. She hallucinated that happening.

Crossblade yelped as a bullet whizzed just past her helm, jumping back. She looked up, and saw a familiar face on a ledge. She exhaled, but began to calm. She walked over the ledge, and climbed clumsily up. She mimicked GoldenClaw’s position, but looked over at her. “You alright?”

The femme flinched at the touched and looked to who it was, optics wide and shaking. “....Fine.” She let out before placing the rifle on her back. “I...I need to have Knockout check on my optics. I’ll be right back.” She quickly excused herself while trying to lie again.

As Claw walked away, Crossblade frowned. She walked out of the gym and returned to her workshop. But she did let Scrapper out to play. 

Scrapper ran out of the workshop excitedly, his tail of connected chain links wagging. He sniffed the ground, and followed the trail of a familiar scent.

Goldenclaw marched the path to her room, not bothering to look up. She accidentally ran into someone, in which she apologized to before continuing her path.

What she didn’t realize yet was that she ran into Soundwave.

Soundwave stepped back, silent as ever. He was going to turn and leave after the femme apologized, but the scared look in her eyes unnerved him. He pointed at GoldenClaw, silently questioning her demeanour.

Scrapper ran back to the workshop as he saw Soundwave, ready to alert his creator.

The femme was surprised when she was stopped by her superior, but she shook her head. “It’s....Nothing, Soundwave. I just need to get something from my chambers.” She answered him, not exactly giving a great answer.

Soundwave held up a hand, demanding she tell the truth. He prepared to comm Lord Megatron, in case she has treachery in mind. Yet when he looked into her optics, he believed that she was just scared. He leaned forward, staring at her. Somehow, his blank mask was scarier than Megatron’s ruby optics.

Goldenclaw stood and stared at the expressionless mask Soundwave gave her. With how close he was to her face, she had to force down the heat coming onto her. Taking a deep breath, she answered in an honest voice. She didn’t want him to believe she was planning something against her leader. “I...have been receiving nightmares lately. It’s been making me on edge.” She confessed, looking down as her heels. “I tried to ignore them through target practice, but they haunt even when I’m awake.”

Soundwave processed what she said for a moment, then took a step forward. And hugged GoldenClaw. He gently pulled her to his chest, long servos stroking her backplates. While leaning his head into her, he sent a recording of her confession to Knockout for him to prescribe the proper medication.

For a moment, the femme took a step back in fear of what he would do. What she didn’t expect was to be pulled close to him. Extremely close. “W-What are you doing...?” She stuttered out, Spark hammering loudly on her chest. Goldenclaw was aware of affection, but she’s been so closed off by the act for so long that she’s unsure of what to do.

Soundwave released her, and pointed to Knockout’s office. He may have been unfamiliar in the ways of affection, but he was betting on that GoldenClaw would take the hint, and allow herself to heal from whatever was hurting her. He nodded in respect, and returned to work. 

Neither of them noticed Crossblade, watching from the corner with a massive grin on her face.

Looking to where he was pointing and nodding, she began to make her way. “....Thank you, Soundwave.” She called out to him before leaving. For some reason, what he did made her felt safe and slightly comforted.

It was nice.

Crossblade stepped out in front of GoldenClaw, blocking her path. “You aren’t observant as you think you are.” Crossblade smirked, but rolled to GoldenClaw’s side and began to lead her to Knockout’s office. “So...how did it feel?”

She was surprised by the sudden surprise. “Wh-Crossblade! Were you spying on us??” She hissed in a whispered tone before groaning. “I’m not gonna say....” Goldenclaw started, covering her now-heated faceplate while looking away. “.....But it was strange.”

Crossblade jumped, laughing out loud. “I knew it! You have a crush on Soundwave!” Crossblade whooped, twirling on her wheels. As her laughter died down, so did her smile. “But seriously, if you are getting nightmares, talk to Knockout. You gotta stay healthy.”

“Keep your voice down, someone might hear!” She scolded, stopping the smaller femme while color flooded her face. When she got serious, however, Goldenclaw sighed. “I am healthy, Crossblade. It’s simple nightmares, honest. I am going to Knockout, however.”

“Once again, you underestimate me quite a bit. I can see how they’re effecting you.” Crossblade patted her arm, looking up at her with a soft smile. The smile, however, slowly morphed to a smirk. “At least I’m not the the only one who has a thing for the higher-ups!”

The femme sighed and glared a little at Crossblade. She won’t admit it, but her friend was right. They were affecting her, whether she denied it or not. At seeing the smirk, however, she growled and flicked her forehead. “Oh be quiet! I have no such ‘thing’ for higher-ups. They’re my Superiors, for Primus sake! At least it’s just Knockout and Soundwave-“ Goldenclaw stopped herself but it was too late. She can’t take it back. “.....Slag.”

Crossblade was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. She held her middle, leaning against the wall. “By Primus, you’re worse than me! Both of them?! Oh, honey!” Crossblade wheezed, pointing weakly at GoldenClaw. “Emotionless assassin my aft!”

Goldenclaw removed her mouthguard to show her smile. It wasn’t the laughing smile. It was the smile of a killer. “Crossblade?” She asked in a sweet tone. “You say any more and I will make your disappearance look like a fragging accident!” She threatened while still smiling. The threat was meaningless but it was pretty effective.

Crossblade jokingly raised her fists. “My dying words will be “Claw loves Soundwave and and Knockout. I’m not afraid of death.” She began to roll away, still giggling. “I’ve got to tell everyone.”

“DON’T YOU FRAGGING DARE-“ Goldenclaw made a grab for her mischievous friend, but she was gone and the femme was already in front of Knockout’s office. “One of these days, nobody is gonna find her body.” She pointed to the direction Crossblade left.

Knockout just sighed, facepalming. “What do the little runt do now?” He patted the medical table, and turned on his scanners to search for physical damages. “I do know a way to get her to shut up, if you’re interested.”

“....Nothing. What she normally does every day.” Goldenclaw answered while sitting on the table and letting him do the work. She was interested, however. “Oh, do tell.”

Knockout smirked, scanning over GoldenClaw. “Well, you two are friends, right? Just use some good old fashioned blackmail.” He took a look at the results, and frowned deeply.

“....I suddenly have an idea.” The femme smirked, knowing of her friends’ crush on the shrewd second-in-command. It went away when she saw him frown. “What is it?”

Knockout put the tablet back and crossed his arms, eyeing Claw. “It seems that you are so low on recharge, that it’s effecting your joints.” He tapped his servos on the table. ”I have some drugs that could help you sleep better, but you have to take them and relax. They won’t work otherwise.” He stood up and reached into a cabinet, pulling a bottle out. “Drop a bit of this into your energon before you sleep.”

“I’m aware of that.” Goldenclaw nodded, keeping silent on why she wasn’t sleeping. Taking the bottle, she smiled a little, appreciating his help. “Thank you, Knockout. I have no idea where my mentality would be without your help.” She thanked and began to leave.

Knockout chuckled, turning to her. “You better tell me how the ‘plan’ turns out. Crossblade’s annoying.” He waved, then returned to his work.

“Annoying yes.” The femme agreed while walking out. “But not too bad to hang around.” She said to herself before placing the bottle within her subspace. “Now, where would that piece of slag friend of mine be hiding....”

Crossblade was sitting on a table in the break room, fiddling with the small screen on her wrist guards. When she saw GoldenClaw, her face brightened, and she waved GoldenClaw over.

Goldenclaw had brought up her mask again to conceal her expression. Once she saw Crossblade, she grinned silently and walked to her table. “Did you tell anyone?”

“Not yet.” Crossblade winked, smirking mischievously. She crosses her legs, attempting to look intimidating. “But who knows, maybe Lord Megatron would be interested.”

“Really now?” Goldenclaw sounded interested, but it was calm. She leaned forward a little, a shade over her faceplate while her magenta optics glowed. “I bet he would be even more interested if I told him about your little....interest in his second-in-command.”

Crossblade froze, sputtering. When she was able to speak, it was full of stutters. “Y-you wouldn’t d-dare!” Crossblade jumped off the table, poking GoldenClaw’s middle. “Don’t even think about it!”

It was clear she was smiling widely at her friend. “I would.” She nodded, not even bothered by her poking her middle. “And I am and will, *unless* you tell nobody.” Goldenclaw offered back. “I tell nobody, you tell nobody. An even trade.”

Crossblade gulped, stepping back. “If you tell, I’ll tell!” She crossed her arms, looking to the side. “...fine. I’ll stay quiet. Just don’t say anything to Starscream.”

“And I won’t, unless you tell.” Goldenclaw smirked and stood up to pat her head. “There we go. That wasn’t so bad now, was it? Don’t worry, I don’t say a word to the shrewd. Just don’t say anything to Knockout and Soundwave. Clear?”

Crossblade accepted the pat, starting to giggle. “You know I was just teasing, right? I wouldn’t actually tell anyone.” Crossblade sighed happily, and pulled a handful of candy from her subspace. She tossed a few at GoldenClaw, then rolled off to her workshop.

Goldenclaw caught the sweets with a little smile. “Well, neither would I. But just making sure, Crossblade.” She winked at her friend before walking the other direction to her chambers. On the way there, she took a lollipop the femme gave her and chewed on it. She was getting better, albeit slowly. All she needed was to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, love.


	6. Cave-in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...

Several days have passed without a mission for Goldenclaw. In that time, she managed to rest much more easily thanks to the medication Knockout prescribed. By the time she was assigned to her next objective, she was in better mental shape. This one, she was assigned to assist Starscream and Soundwave in mining an energon mine pouring with Dark Energon. It could be useful to their advantage.  
The only downside was Crossblade had to remain on the Nemesis.

“This is dumb. Why do you get to go on all the fun missions?” Crossblade pouted, angrily sucking on an energon pop. She crossed her arms, biolights dimming in disappointment.

“It’s not fun, Crossblade, it’s important. This mine of Dark Energon could be extremely useful to Lord Megatron. I’m just going to be down there to observe and monitor.” Goldenclaw sighed, clipping the cannon on her hip and the rifle on her back. “Don’t act so disappointed. If we have enough, I can ask Lord Megatron to let you borrow a portion for future projects.”

Crossblade gasped, optics twinkling. “Really!?” She threw her arms in the air, then quickly hugged GoldenClaw. When she released, she was practically vibrating in happiness. “You’re the best Claw!” Slipping off the table, she saluted GoldenClaw while rolling back to her workshop. “Good luck!”

The hug felt weird to Goldenclaw, but she merely huffed and squinted at her. “Get off of me, Crossblade.” She commanded without any ill in her voice, before nodding. “Don’t get into too much trouble.” She waved before beginning to head up to the Nemesis. Once she was outside, she transformed and flew into the coordinates sent to her.

Crossblade hummed to herself as she worked, and was feeling pretty good. Her wings seemed functional, and they fit. She just needed time to test them. 

Starscream was waiting by the entrance of the cave, grumbling. When GoldenClaw landed, he waved her over. “Stay behind Soundwave and I, and don’t do anything stupid.”

She greeted Starscream with a raised eyebrow. “Wasn’t planning to.” She muttered before looking to Soundwave and nodding to him. “How much progress has been made before I arrived?” Goldenclaw asked, looking around at the numerous Vehicons and their machinery while they harvested the energon.

Starscream response was haughty. He was clearly full of himself. “Quite a bit! No sign of the Autobots, and all we have to do is supervise!” He smirked, heels clacking on the stone. Soundwave was cataloguing everything he saw and recording their voices.

Goldenclaw hummed. “Still, we should be cautious. This is a rather large mine.” She murmured. “I’ll supervise from a different angle.” The femme walked in front of the haughty Decepticon before releasing an energy rope and raising herself up to a ledge, hidden from sight but able to see almost everything.

Starscream scoffed, but continued his descent deeper into the mine. Soundwave nodded at her general direction, and followed Starscream.

The femme kneeled on the ledge and took her rifle out to clean and check that enough ammo was within it. All she had to do was wait for activity.  
So far, nothing happened. It seemed as if this operation would be a quiet but major success.

Starscream was bored. There was nothing in this mine except dark energon and Vehicons. As he was about to turn back, a groundbridge opened up. Out came pouring Optimus Prime, and his disgusting Autobots. Starscream yelped, and raised an arm to fire a missile. 

He missed.

The Autobots sprinted past him, and the cave began to come crashing down.

“Starscream. Status!” Goldenclaw called, but she didn’t need his answer at seeing the Autobots. “Oh, you must be joking me.” She muttered and took aim before shooting. The crossfire got intense as she heard rumbling from below the cave. They just *had* to intervene, didn’t they! She missed her shot and took aim at one of the femmes.  
When she turned around, Goldenclaw froze. It was Silverdart, but one of her eyes were dimmed down. Something that she caused. Hesitating was her downfall. The younger sister aimed at her placement and shot the ledge. Reacting quickly, she shot out an energy rope and swung down before her heel met the other femme’s chest.

Starscream was scrambling out of the cave, pushing Vehicons aside as the Autobots chases him. In a moment of pure instinct, he pushed Soundwave back into the same cavern that the idiotic femme was stuck in. Just as he exited the cave, the rocks at the small cavern’s entrance collapsed, trapping Soundwave underneath and knocking him out.

Just as Goldenclaw was ready to make her attack, she heard a scuffle and looked to see something that made her spark stop. “Soundwave!” She completely ignores her enemies and scrambled to him taking the rocks off him and carrying him. “Come on, you have to get out of here.” She looked up and saw a large opening on the mine. Casting an energy rope, she hoisted the both of them up, making their escape. However, something caught her attention at the corner of her optics.

When she abandoned Silverdart? Rocks captured the small femme’s legs, trapping her. Her comrades were too busy helping her to notice. Conflict began to swim in her spark.

Does she abandon her sister to die again, or live to prove her worth as a Decepticon?

Crossblade felt a lurch in her gears. Something was going wrong, but she didn’t know what. Crossblade nibbled on her lip plates, too anxious too continue working. She had been ordered to remain on the Nemesis, but...

“GoldenClaw, what’s your status?” Crossblade sent her partner a text message, sucking on a lollipop. Hopefully the private messages were still online.

No reply. She couldn’t. At least, not yet. She had to make up her mind, and make up she did.

“Starscream, I’m sending Soundwave in your way. Bring him back to the ship.” She commed the Decepticon before hoisting the male on her shoulder. “Soundwave. Tell Crossblade that I’m sorry. And....thank you for your help.” She confessed, hoping that he actually didn’t hear anything before throwing him up the hole. Hopefully, her shrewd of a colleague listened to her.

Dropping back down to the mine, she helped the Autobots free her sister from the rubble. She managed to take out more rocks than they had, before she pulled Silverdart out. “You stay away from trouble, or I will destroy you.” She muttered, a glare meeting her younger’s confused expression. Looking to the Autobots, she shoved her to the yellow bot. “Why are you still standing here?! Get the frag out!!”

Soundwave was still unconscious. But Laserbeak wasn’t. When Soundwave was tossed through the small hole, his cassette had recorded GoldenClaw’s traitorous confession. Starscream stomped back inside, and pulled Soundwave back to the Nemesis through a bridge. 

Crossblade was angry, and sent another message. “Claw, if you’re dead, I’m sorry, if you’re alive and ignoring me I’ll kill you myself!”

The femme watched them leave. She watched her sister reach out and tell her to come with them, but she didn’t see a point. Looking to the message, she smiled and sent, “I’ll be fine. I’m heading back right now.” Without a sound, she turned and tried to make her escape, but she couldn’t. The cave was collapsing on her. Just when she thought she could make it out alive, a heavy chunk pushed her down, before she was buried.   
Still alive.

Crossblade sighed in relief, and was about to sit when she shot back up. “GoldenClaw, how long will it take for you to get back?” Crossblade was shaking, but this extra message was just insurance. “Claw, are you there?”

No answer. Not for a while. The poor femme could barely move. Sharpened rocks impaled her middle and some are barely missing her spark. It was hard to breathe, but she had to let her know that she was alright. Even if it was a lie. “I’m here. I’m heading up there right now with Soundwave and Shrewscream.” The nickname almost made her laugh. If she made it out of this, she would probably die. For the first time in a long while, Goldenclaw admitted something nobody could hear. She could only breathe it out, her voice barely above a whisper.  
“I’m scared.”

Crossblade stepped out of her workshop, grabbing her spear and the wings. She strapped the wings on and gave them a cautious flap. She rose up slightly. Crossblade grunted in approval and began to run up to the roof. The wind hit her face uncomfortably, but she didn’t care. A bridge opened directly on the roof, Starscream and Soundwave exiting as they brushed off dust. Crossblade looked behind them, but the bridge closed. 

“Where’s GoldenClaw?” Crossblade demanded, blocking Starscream’s way inside. He scoffed at her and pushed her aside, yelling back as he strode inside. 

“I don’t know. She stayed behind to hold the Autobots off.”

Crossblade gasped, and ran to the edge of the roof, checking the coordinates of the messages she sent. She jumped.

It felt like an eternity underneath the rubble. Goldenclaw couldn’t even move unless it caused more pain than she was already in. Her consciousness was beginning to fail her. She was getting tired. So very tired...  
Just as she closed her eyes, she reopened them upon hearing rock being moved away.

Crossblade struggled to pull the rubble away, but she was making progress. Her training had payed off. “Claw! Can you hear me?”

It was faint. Too faint, but the call for her own name could be heard.

Crossblade growled, and used her spear to pry away a large boulder. Once it rolled away, she saw a patch of gold metal. Crossblade gasped, and began pushing the rocks off of the metal, feeling stronger. The rocks were removed one by one, revealing a very, very injured GoldenClaw. 

“GoldenClaw!”

The femme could feel the rubble move from her body. She felt herself getting pulled out, but couldn’t see who. Goldenclaw was unconscious. The pain from being trapped underneath rubble took its toll on her. If she didn’t get help soon, she would have fought for her life in vain.

Crossblade lifted Claw into her arms, panting under the larger femme’s weight. She dragged her out of the cave, and jumped up and began to fly back as fast the wings would allow. When they reached the deck, Crossblade was exhausted. She pointed at a group of Vehicons. 

“Quick, go get Knockout! Now!”

She could hear voices. One was familiar to her: Crossblade. The other was also familiar, but she couldn’t quite figure out who. All she could do was twitch and inhale sharply when she felt something sharp exit out of her middle. The rocks embedding her were being removed.

Knockout was focused on taking care of GoldenClaw, leaving Crossblade with shaky legs and Megatron staring at her. She sat just outside of the operating room Claw has been moved to, and tried her best to ignore her Lord’s and the Second in Command’s disapproving optics.

Aside from the minor twitch and wince, Goldenclaw looked peaceful, almost asleep even. She wasn’t aware of the danger her friend could potentially be in, after her impulsive rescue. However, she was aware that if she woke up and recovered, she would have to face her leader and explain herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keo and I are not sorry in the slightest.


	7. Conditioning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claw wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I’m sorry

Crossblade paced outside Knockout’s office, crunching on energon candies to stop herself from biting the tips of her servos. She had been kicked out for asking to many questions. Megatron had already moved on, but Starscream lingered around.

After a long while, Goldenclaw’s optics slowly blinked open. The first thing she saw was a bright light, before her optics got used to it and she slowly got up. “What....happened...?” She murmured, forgetting for a moment how she got there.

Knockout leaned over her, finishing up the final welds on her frame. “You we’re trapped when the cave fell in on itself. Crossblade rescued you.” He helped her into her feet, and led her outside. “Lord Megatron requests your presence.”

“She did?” The femme was a little surprised before it all came back to her. “Oh...” She murmured while letting the male help her. At the mention of her superior’s name, she stiffened for a moment. “.....Oh. Well....I should see why then.” She let herself move away from Knockout before walking on her own. There was a slight limp on her walk, but she didn’t let that bother her.

Crossblade’s optics widened when she saw GoldenClaw come out, and she rushed up and embraced her. “Claw! Thank Primus you’re okay!” Crossblade squeezed Claw gently, her optics shining with leaking coolant.

The femme winced and endured the sores, but pat her friend’s head. “I’m alive, don’t worry. I owe you for saving my life, Cross. Quit leaking.” She sighed with a little smile, but it was wiped away. “But I’m not out of the ruins just yet.”

She backed off immediately, and wiped her optics. “Yeah... Lord Megatron was pissed at me for abandoning my post.” Crossblade began to walk slowly to headquarters, slow enough for GoldenClaw to keep up. “You had me worried sick, Claw.”

“You shouldn’t have abandoned your post, in the first place.” She scolded mildly, then sighed, looking a little emotionally exhausted. “Then again, I did lie to you when I said I would be there with Starscream and Soundwave. I guess we’re both even, in a way.”

Crossblade patted GoldenClaw’s arm, pressing the buttons to open the door to HQ. She took a deep breath, and walked forward, bowing to Megatron.

Walking up to her leader, Goldenclaw bowed without wavering. “You called for us, master?”

Megatron glared at the two femmes, Crossblade especially. “Crossblade, need I remind you that you have left your post more than once without my permission. The next time you leave your position for an insignificant task, you will not be granted mercy. Do I make myself clear?”

Crossblade bit back the urge to retort, and allowed herself to reply respectfully. “Yes master. My emotions got the better of me.” She bower her head, her biolights dimming. Starscream smirked from behind Megatron, amused at their predicament.

“I pray you don’t let those emotions cloud your judgement next time.” Megatron kept his glare, but it moved from the small femme to Goldenclaw. “You are dismissed.” He ordered Crossblade to leave.

Goldenclaw didn’t show it, but panic was pulsing from her spark. She was at the complete mercy of her leader, and if she’s learned anything from being the top assassin,

Lord Megatron would not show mercy to his elites.

Crossblade turned and walked out, but waiting by the door and listened as well as she could through the thick metal plating. “Claw...”

Starscream stepped forward, bowing his head to Megatron as he glared at GoldenClaw. “Master, perhaps we should not allow GoldenClaw and the engineer to go on missions together.” He motioned at the door, a sadistic tone poisoning the mask of sweetness over his words. “The shut-in got attached after only after a few weeks.”

The proposition made Claw glance at him with a poisonous glare, silently telling him to shut up.

“Perhaps. I will think on this. It has caused my top assassin to falter.” Megatron glanced at his second-in-command. “But that is not what I wanted to discuss. Starscream has claimed you stayed back to hold off the Autobots in your escape from the mines. Is this true?”

Goldenclaw nodded. “It is true, yes.”

Her answer made Megatron raise a brow. “Really? According to evidence caught by Laserbeak, you have said otherwise.” He turned to Soundwave and nodded, giving him permission to play back what she actually said.

Crossblade was straining to hear through the door, only hearing bits and pieces. But when she heard Laserbeak, evidence and and otherwise in the same sentence, she felt her spark clench. 

Soundwave played back GoldenClaw’s confession, turning his helm in her direction. 

“Starscream, I’m sending Soundwave in your way. Bring him back to the ship.” “Soundwave. Tell Crossblade that I’m sorry. And....thank you for your help.”

“You stay away from trouble, or I will destroy you.” “Why are you still standing here?! Get the frag out!!” 

When the recording stopped with a small click, all eyes were on GoldenClaw.

Goldenclaw was paralyzed in place. Her mouthguard didn’t need to cover up how fear-filled she looked.

“You did not hold off the Autobots.” Megatron stated, his voice in a quiet growl. “You assisted them in escaping.” He prowled to the femme, who had to use all of her will to stand in place. “Is this true?”

All she could do was stare back at her master, before sighing and looking down. “It’s true.” She admitted. “But let me explain myself-“

She was not given a chance before her neck was in Megatron’s hand, and she was thrown to the door with a hard slam. It was hard enough to leave a dent.

“You, The Decepticons top assassin, assisted the Autobots?!”

Crossblade fell back when the door dented outwards, barely silencing her scream of fear. She could hear Megatron’s roars, and she slid away from the door instinctively. Crossblade stood up shakily, and snuck back to the door. 

Starscream chuckled from behind Megatron, chest puffed out. “Not so proud now, are we?” He mouthed to her, sneering.

Crossblade coughed, gripping her throat while looking to her master. “It....It wasn’t them I was helping-“ She didn’t finished before being hoisted up and thrown again to Starscream’s heels.

“Then who was it you were helping?! Yourself?” Megatron roared, grabbing her face to make her look at him in his fiery eyes. “I would have expected more from you, Goldenclaw. Instead, you have committed the greatest taboo in Decepticon history, and that is helping the Autobots escape in a situation that was impossible!!”

“It wasn’t them I was helping! The femme declared, making the leader look at her with a deadly glare and mild surprise, for talking back.

Starscream reached down and lifted up GoldenClaw’s chin, not bothering to hide his grin. “Well, who were you helping? Speak up, sweetspark. We all love your beautiful voice.” He pulled her up slightly, then threw her back down.

Goldenclaw glared venomously at Starscream, but tried to lift herself up. “....It was that new recruit. That small autobot, Silverdart.” She answered in a quiet voice. “She.....is my sister.” She looked up to Megatron.

For a moment, his face was devoid of emotion, but he laughed menacingly. It chilled the femme’s frame. “This explains much now! This explains why you have been hesitating in your kills. Because you are being held back by your history with an enemy. I can not have that in my ranks.” The Decepticon leader grabbed her by the neck again before looking to Starscream.

“Prepare the recondition zone. We will bring our Top Assassin to her former glory.”

Crossblade covered her mouth, stepping back in fear. She began to run from the door, she couldn’t allow herself to be caught. She sprinted as fast as she could, and drifted into her workshop. As soon as she was inside, she slammed the door, locked it, and positioned her best defensive gear at the door in case someone tried to break in. She grabbed a small communicator and sat on her bed. 

Crossblade had a call to make.

Goldenclaw struggled in Megatron’s grip, trying to claw his hand from her neck. Her optics moved erratically, searching for someone to help her. When she made eye contact with Soundwave, for a moment she pleaded with her eyes to help. However, the hope she had soon faded away.

Nobody could help her from her fate.

Crossblade could almost feel whatever the tyrant was doing to GoldenClaw, but she didn’t hesitate. 

“This is Crossblade. I need your help. Come to our coordinates, and be prepared for two more Autobots.” 

Her servos shook as she hovered her hand above the send button, but she pressed it defiantly. As soon as the message was sent, she smashed her communicator on the ground and stomped it to pieces. Then she began to pack a bag, filling it with her most prized inventions, tools and candy. She strapped the wings to her back, and picked up Scrapper while she waited.

 

~~~

 

Her screams were echoing all over the Nemesis while the memories were getting electrocuted from her. It burned so much. The affection she held for Knockout and Soundwave. She could feel it burn away into nothing but an empty space, until she felt nothing for them. Not anymore. The next thing that needed to be erased was her general emotions.

A bridge appeared and three boys came from across it. They were Arcee, Silverdart and Optimus.

“This feels like a trap.” Arcee voiced out her concern.

“It can’t be. I know who Crossblade is. It can not be a trap if even a sworn enemy has pleaded for help after another saves a life. She’s close with Goldenclaw.” Silverdart argued.

Crossblade heard the bridge open and stepped out from behind the small pillar, blasters raised. In three quick shots, she killed the alarmed Vehicons before they could alert anyone. She lowered her blasters, and bowed her head in a silent thanks. Her visor was lowered, and she was clearly tense. 

“Thank you. It means quite a lot to me.” She stepped forward, offering a hand to SilverDart.

For a second, they all tensed upon seeing the femme, but it was youngest Autobot that stepped up and shook her hand.

“I’m still upset about losing my eye and for you nearly killing my human, but you’re welcome.” She smiled, then heard a scream echo. “....Is that her?”

“Her?” Arcee frowned at her. “Is there something you’re not telling us, Dart?”

Crossblade eyed the blue two-wheeler, smirking a little. “You didn’t tell them? Whatever. That can wait till we get GoldenClaw out.” She turned on her heel and strode forward, signalling for the Autobots to follow. “Stay behind me, and keep blaster fire to a minimum.” Crossblade led her new allies into the next hall.

Silverdart nodded and took out something small from the holes in her servos. They were little silver darts. She and her partners followed close behind the femme. The screams of her sister sent a chill down her spine, but she did not let it get to her.

Crossblade pulled her spear out and peeked around the corner. She tensed, and murmured a quiet prayer that her training had paid off. She darted out, and sliced a Vehicon’s head off as fast as she could. 

“Now!”

The Autobots rushes forward, subduing the other guards as quietly as they could. Crossblade then walked to the door being guarded, and knocked three times. 

“Claw?”

No answer from the femme. It opened to reveal a Vehicon on Guard. On instinct, Silverdart reacted first and threw the sharp object straight in the head before kicking it down. Looking inside the chambers, she gasped at seeing her sister’s condition.

Her frame gave an electrical spark every now and then. Her body twitched from it as well. From the looks of it, she didn’t even react when she heard her name. She only looked up with the worst emotion her sister and best friend could have ever since.

Nothing.

Crossblade stepped back, then grit her teeth and walked in, kicking aside the guard. She offered a hand to GoldenClaw, waiting silently. Optimus watched, trying to understand the odd dynamic. When GoldenClaw didn’t take her hand, Crossblade just stood up. 

“Guess we’re doing this the hard way. Optimus, would you grab Claw and call a bridge?”

The leader of the Autobots looked skeptical towards the little femme, but nodded and stepped forward to carry Claw. “I hope you understand what you are doing.” He warned Crossblade, knowing that by calling them for help, she is betraying her own faction.

Crossblade laughed, then pulled a grenade from her bag. She pulled the pin and threw it out of the room, then walked into the bridge. As the Autobots joined her walking through the wormhole, she looked over her shoulder with a grin. “If whenever I made dumb decisions and I didn’t think of the consequences, I’d be dead by now.”

When they returned, the five were greeted by three of the remaining Autobots, and four humans.  
“Well that was quick!” A spunky human girl announced. “What’d ya guys do, anyways? You left in a hurry!”

Silverdart looked from Miko to her sister, still unresponsive and blank-expressive. “We had to pick them up.” She pointed to Crossblade and Goldenclaw.

Crossblade smiled at the human, waving. “So small...” she murmured, then turned to Optimus. “Thanks again Prime, I owe you one.” Crossblade walked up to GoldenClaw, and began to examine her. 

“Why are there cons in our base?!”

The large green mech was yelling, pointing at Crossblade and GoldenClaw. Crossblade rolled her optics, and ignored him as she gently led GoldenClaw to the medical table.

“Stand down, Bulkhead. She contacted us, and requested for our help.” Optimus eased his friend. This made Bumblebee beep. He asked if they didn’t think it was a trap.

“At first, we thought it was ,but I know pure desperation from voice when I hear it. Plus....I could tell you two are pretty close.” Silverdart reasoned with them then went over beside Crossblade. “What did they do to her...?”

Crossblade growled lightly, her fists clenching. “Not ‘them.’ Just Megatron.” She took a deep breath and exhaled long and slow. She turned to SilverDart, raising her visor and grinning sweetly. “I assume you’ll help me kill him?” Crossblade clapped SilverDart on the shoulder, then reached into her bag and pulled out a large file. Before any of the Autobots tried to confiscate it, she started to file off her Decepticon engraving, flicking the metal shavings onto the floor.

“If it meant doing justice for her. Then, yeah. I’ll try.” The femme nodded, and was then surprised to see her file away her engraving. “You’re...serious about turning to our side?”

Crossblade scoffed, stuffing the file into her subspace. “No, I just think the symbol is ugly. Of course I am!” She grinned, sitting on the table next to GoldenClaw. “I joined the Cons when I was a kid, angry about something that couldn’t be prevented. I’m not letting an old grudge stop me from bitch-slapping that shiny toaster into the fragging ground.”

Optimus blinked in surprise, but stepped forward and nodded his head in respect. 

“Welcome to the team. But, about GoldenClaw?”

The mention of her sister made Silverdart look to her. It pained her spark to see her devoid of emotion. Whatever brutality Megatron put her through, he would pay for it ten-fold. “We’ll just have to let her recover with time....and a lot of support.”

Crossblade nodded, sucking on an energon candy. “I agree. She’s probably comatose because of how fresh the torture is, but I doubt any super important memories have been erased yet.” She sighed, linking her fingers with Claw’s.

“....Yet.” Silverdart nodded.  
“You still got questions to answer, rookie.” Arcee reminded. “You never told us you had a sister.”  
The young femme laughed. “Well.....I guess I have a lot to talk about then.” She grinned sheepishly while letting her human, Tia, sit on her shoulder.  
“This is gonna be epic!” Miko couldn’t wait to hear the story.

Crossblade crunched her candy, rolling her optics. “If I get punched because of this I’m blaming you.” When no one responded, she nudged SilverDart. “You tell your story, and I’ll fill in the blanks.” The Autobots all looked to SilverDart, curious.

“Thanks.” Silverdart smiled a little before sighing. “Where to begin....?”  
“How about the beginning?” Tia suggested, blind eyes shining at nothing in particular.  
Following her friend’s suggestion, she nodded.  
“Well, on Cybertron, I was created right after my father went to war. He was actually part of the Decepticon cause, but he never came back...” She told them. “I’m not mad, because either way, innocent lives were hurt, but our homecity was destroyed and Goldenclaw and I became orphans. When we were adolescents, we had a...disagreement, on whose side we picked. I chose my side and she chose hers. Since then, we’ve been at eachother’s optics and sparks.”

Crossblade crossed her arms, nodding. “So...I assume I’m going to be interrogated now?” She got up from the table, sighing. “That is correct, Crossblade.” Optimus replied, frowning slightly. He stepped back, and Arcee took his place, scowling.

Silverdart shrugged and mouthed a small ‘sorry’ to the femme before leaving her side. Arcee glared harshly at Crossblade.  
“Just exactly who are you, and what history did you have with the Decepticons? It’s odd that you suddenly show up and say that you’re no longer on their side without much reason.”

Crossblade smirked, then struck a ridiculous pose. “Megatron has fallen! And I, Starscream, now rule the Decepticons!” Crossblade held the pose for a few seconds, the fell back into her natural stance. 

“Just kidding. I was abandoned from birth, and built things to survive on Cybertron. In my teenage years, I had taken up residence in an abandoned warehouse. I was caught up in a battle, and when Autobot air support came through, they destroyed my home and almost killed me. I was found by Decepticons, and essentially adopted. Once they learned of my skills in engineering, I was offered the job of building gear for ‘the cause.’ I’ve stayed there, but when I was punished for saving GoldenClaw and she was tortured, I drew the line.” 

“The rest is history.”

Bumblebee and Silverdart snickered at her impression of Starscream. Arcee seemed to ease up a little after her explanation. “....Alright then. But I still have my eye on you.” She warned.

Optimus watched the femme leave before looking to Crossblade. “My sincere apologies for our hand in destroying your home.” He apologized for her past before looking directly in her eyes. They were filled with wisdom and respect, something she never got from the Decepticons. “What you have done for your comrade is admirable, and truly worth being an Autobot.”

Crossblade froze at his sincerity, his cyan optics piercing through her. She felt her smirk morph into a sincere smile. “The warehouse thing isn’t that big of a deal, you probably thought it was empty...but, uh...thanks.” Crossblade rubbed the back of her helm, looking away. “So, any other questions?”

“SD, let me go there?” Tia poked her friend’s head, making her chuckle and bring her to the former Decepticon. The little girl felt Crossblade’s shoulder with her feet before easily balancing on her. “You don’t mind me asking, Miss. What was it like? Being one of the bad guys??” She asked innocently.  
“Tia!” Silverdart scolded. “Isn’t that a little rude to ask?”

Crossblade was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. “It’s no big deal, that’s a valid question.” Crossblade pressed a button on her wrist guards, and a small projection popped up. “It sucked kiddo, but now I have a ton of recordings of Screamer being pathetic.” Crossblade selected one at random, and a voice recording of Starscream pretending to be in charge when he thought he was alone. “Dart, your human’s hilarious.”

Tia listened to the sound of the voice, before giggling. “He sounds like a sissy!”  
“For a blind 13-year old, she has really good sense of humor.” Silverdart chuckled. “Also, did you record that?”

Crossblade nodded, turning off the holoscreen. “I have hundreds of the Cons being dumb. It’s good for the slow days.” She smiled, then glanced down at Claw. She stared at the femme for a moment then turned back to her new team. “Anything else?”

“Well, not really. I have to take Tia home now. Her aunt would be worried.” Silverdart shook her head and took the girl from Crossblade’s shoulder before transforming back into her alt-mode. The other Autobots seem to follow her lead. It was getting dark out, after all.  
On time, Goldenclaw opened her optics and raised herself up. Shaking her head, she looked around. “This....isn’t Knockout’s office.”

Crossblade turned to GoldenClaw, smiling. “No, it’s not.” She sat on the table, opening her arms and lightly embracing Claw. “We’re free now, Claw. No more Screamer, no more fear of being snuffed by Megatron.” She sighed happily, squeezing Claw a bit tighter before releasing her and leaning back. “How do you feel?”

For a moment, Goldenclaw tensed up at the hug, but relaxed. “Yeah....” She agreed, then placed a servo to her helm. “Still shocked from the electric prods. Megatron made me forget something, but Im not sure what.” She admitted, until her eyes landed on Optimus and Ratchet. “.....Why are we in Autobot territory? Wait-Where even are we?”

Crossblade winced, then made an odd gesture. “I, uh, kinda got the Autobots to help me get you out and now they’ve accepted us as one of their own. Surprise?” Crossblade shrugged, grinning nervously as she tried to sink into her chassis.

Goldenclaw stared at Crossblade with a deadpanned expression. “....If I was not wounded right now, not just from the cave-in but from the beatdown and attempted conditioning, I would be strangling you because, what the frag were you thinking.” She stated with a comically dead tone. As always, there was nothing implying that she would actually do it.

Crossblade shrugged again, but giggled at the empty threat. “Hey, the others don’t understand our sense of humour yet. Tone it down.” She smiled, hoping she could prompt something from Claw.

“No.” She refused, but didn’t say another threat afterwards. The two Autobots looked at each other, confused of their interaction.  
“Are you two always so hostile towards each other?” Ratchets questioned.

Crossblade nodded, grinning. “It’s a trauma-child thing.” Crossblade offered a candy to GoldenClaw, humming happily. 

 

Soundwave was sitting on his berth, staring at the floor. Because he has ratted GoldenClaw out, she has been tortured, then kidnaped by the Autobots and the traitorous engineer. He would never get to hug her again. 

He pressed a button on Laserbeak, and her voice rang out. 

“Thank you, Soundwave.” 

He played her voice all night, letting the missing femme lull him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jk I’m not.


	8. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crossblade is many things, and patient is not one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was actually super fun!

Crossblade didn’t think the Autobot vase would have been as stressful as the Nemesis, but she was surprised again and again. Optimus treated his soldiers as equals, a calm and trustworthy leader. The humans helped (albeit in their own way) Ratchet with his programming. The two wreckers were loud and brash, but not rude or malicious. Even the two younger ones, Bumblebee and Smokescreen were kind, and not rude to her yet.

Goldenclaw had to take some time to getting used to the Autobot base. She managed to get along or become tolerable to almost everyone, but Arcee has kept an eye on her actions. Nevertheless, she learned the ropes and what to do and not to do by her sister and Optimus. She even got to know the humans, which in and of itself was a step she thought she never would have taken.

Crossblade was currently watching Raf and Jack play video games, rolling her eyes and chuckling at their enthusiasm. She was going to offer tips when the groundbridge opened, Smokescreen and Bumblebee entering with self-satisfied smirks. 

“Those Vehicons never knew what hit em! Good job, Bee!” Smokescreen congratulates Bumblebee, high-fiving him.

“Good to see you made it in one place.” Silverdart smiled and walked up to them. “What did you guys even do? I was half-listening and helping Tia with her homework.”

Goldenclaw was perched up on one of the base’s higher ledges. She was up there cleaning her rifle, but her audio-sensors could hear the conversations clearly.

Crossblade glanced at them, then turned back to the game. As she listened in, her optics shrunk.

“Well, the Cons were prowling around, so Bee and I decided to take them out! Screamer was with them, but he abandoned ship as soon as we showed up. Weird.”

Crossblade cut in, still watching the T.V. “Screamer’s a coward, but he’s no idiot. I say we keep an eye out for him.” She pulled a lollipop out and popped it in her mouth, slowing her anxiety.

Goldenclaw stopped whatever she was doing and glanced down at the bots. “I don’t think so.” She objected, casting an energy rope on the roof and lowering herself down to the others. “If he has left as soon as you have showed up, I feel like he has something planned. Last I checked, we have to stay out of their radar.” She looked to Crossblade, worry in her magenta optics.

Crossblade met optics with Claw, trying to stay calm. “Claw’s right. Unless you’re sure you can handle his armada, staying under the radar is a pretty good plan.” She tossed a candy up to Claw, then turned to face the rest of the Autobots.

Goldenclaw took the sweet and by into it. She looked to the Autobots, awaiting their decision.  
“Starscream and the Vehicons are little more than scrap. I think we can take them on.” Silverdart cocked a hip, nothing noticing the way her sister’s eye twitched at her cockiness.

Smokescreen laughed, waving a hand dismissively. “Please, that coward? He can barely handle himself, let alone us!” He jabbed his thumb at his chassis, smirking. Crossblade growled, glaring at him. “You haven’t seen what I have.”

Goldenclaw growled. “You two are basically asking to get in his claws, no humor intended.”

“It can’t be that bad, sis.” Silverdart waved her concern off and stood next to Smokescreen. “As a matter of fact, how ‘bout we bridge back there and teach that piece a’ slag a lesson? Can we, Optimus?”

Crossblade facepalmed, groaning. “Bad idea, kid. That slag can kill a wrecker from a couple hundred feet in the air, you think he’ll show you mercy?” She was shivering slightly, remembering how he had mocked her. “I’m not in charge, but I vote no.”

Optimus nodded. “It’s too much of a risk. Whatever Starscream has planned, I can not allow you two to fall for any of it. You both know better than to rush into action without thinking.” The leader seconded Crossblade and Goldenclaw’s concern, trusting their judgement and experience.

Crossblade sighed in relief, then rolled to her new workshop twirling a wrench in her hands. As soon as she was out of earshot, Smokescreen scoffed. “You really trust that con more than me?” He crossed his arms and glared in Crossblade’s direction.

“Watch it, that con is my friend.” Goldenclaw growled, stepping up to Smokescreen. Optimus gave her and his comrade a look.

“She and Goldenclaw had more contact with the Decepticons up-close, thus having more experience than you and Silverdart. It is best that you do not run into danger and wait.” The autobot explained.

Crossblade poked head head out from her workshop and threw a small wrench at Smokescreen. It nailed his shoulder, not damaging him, but still scaring him. “Watch your mouth, or I’ll introduce you to Screamer’s slimy little servos myself.” She glared at him, the slunk back into her workshop.

Goldenclaw hid a little snicker, giving Crossblade a nod before looking to her sister. “So, don’t do anything stupid and head out for danger, like you always do.”

Silverdart squinted her eyes at her elder sister before huffing. “Fine fine, I won’t. Only because Optimus said so.” She raised her hands in surrender and transformed into alt-mode to use her holoform and help Tia in her homework.

Smokescreen rubbed his shoulder, then pointed at Crossblade’s shop. “You see? She’s violent!” Ratchet just chuckled, turning to Smokescreen with a hand on his hip. “No, that was perfectly justified.” He sputtered, but shut up to pout quietly.

Goldenclaw scoffed before heading on over to Crossblade’s shop. She made a quiet tap on the door before coming inside. “We have such a lovely team. Small but lovely.”

Crossblade grunted, already elbows deep in what appeared to be a laser cannon. ”Meh.”  
She shoved a large part into the machine, then stood up and wiped her hands off. “They could learn to hold their tongues. That would be nice.”

“Well, Smokescreen and Silverdart.” Goldenclaw shrugged, leaning on a wall in her shop. “They’re practically the runts of this bunch.” She gave a smirk to the Autobots doing their normal business, but then her smirk fell. “Still....it’s a little odd of a coward like Starscream to flee as soon as possible. The least he would do is try and fight a little.”

Crossblade nodded, staring at the floor in concentration. “It’s odd. And frankly I don’t like it.” She tapped her pede, glancing around nervously. “Oh well. Too bad I’ll never be able to get revenge.”

The femme glanced at her friend for a moment. “I thought you wanted revenge on Megatron for the slag he put me through. Is Starscream no different?”

She shook her head, smirking. “I heard what he said to you. I’m not letting him off easy.” She picked a newly engineered weapon off her table, and pressed a button on the side. A razor sharp blade shot out, making her grin. “If I see him again...”

She blinked at the weapon, before grinning a little. ”He’d be pretty useful as a test subject to that.” Goldenclaw pointed to the blade. “I hope you’re not thinking of hunting him down to test it...”

She examined the scope and looked through it. As said, she can see through it in x-ray vision. “This can be useful. Thanks, Cross.” Claw smiled, then blinked. “Actually, on another topic, if we’re on this side, I think it would be better to taking another alternate mode. We can’t use the same ones forever.”

Crossblade looked up, frowning. “Aw, what? No one on the Nemesis has even seen my alt mode. Only you.” She shook her head, rolling her optics. “It’s no big deal.”

“Really?” Goldenclaw blinked, surprised. “Well then, I guess I’ll go searching myself then. I’ve always wondered what a motorcycle for an alt-mode felt like. I can always switch from being a car and cycle.” She placed the scope in her subspace.

Crossblade gave GoldenClaw a thumbs up, then closed the door after she left. Crossblade then grabbed her spear and tucked it into its holster, and giggled to herself. 

“Starscream...I’m coming for you.”

Crossblade climbed onto the table and removed a vent panel, setting it aside. As she climbed into the vent and crawled outside the base, she thanked her creators for giving her such a small frame.

~~~

Time passed, and nobody noticed Crossblade’s disappearance. That was until Silverdart noticed how quiet her shop was. “Crossblade? You workin’ on anything?” She knocked, then blinked. Nobody was there. Worried, she exited out and asked her team. “Have you guys seen Crossblade?”

“Last I checked, she was cooped up in her workshop.” Arcee answered. “Why?”

Ratchet shrugged, not really paying attention. “She probably doesn’t want to be bothered. Let her work.” Bulkhead nodded, but Bee and Smokescreen looked at each other suspiciously. “Is she even in there?” Bumblebee beeped, optics wide.

Silverdart shook her head. “No. She left after Claw left...” She trailed off, blinking. “You don’t think she went on her own to find Starscream, did you?”

Optimus frowned deeply, but kept calm. “Now, lets not jump to conclusions. She’s probably with GoldenClaw. Ratchet, comm Claw.” 

Crossblade herself was nowhere near GoldenClaw. Instead she was in tree, watching Starscream pace around in the forest. He seemed to be waiting for something, but she didn’t know and didn’t care what. She jumped down from the tree, spear drawn, and charged her ex-superior.

~~~  
The femme was driving back in her new alt form just as she got a comma from Ratchet. “What is it?” She asked, then got confused. “No, she’s not with me. Why?” She could hear her sister tell what she believed, in which Claw immediately slammed the breaks of her vehicle. “......Son of a-“ She didn’t get to finish before she sped up on the drive to base. “Crossblade you idiot!”  
~~~  
Starscream smirked in her direction and looked to set off an alarm. A net wrapped itself around Crossblade while causing minor shocks to her body. “Crossblade. Glad you could come over and visit.” He mocked with a venomous tone.

Crossblade winced, but grinned maniacally through the pain. ”Good to see you again, Screamer. I figured you wanted to talk.” Her hands were stuck behind her back, so she began to quietly test the strength of the bonds.

Starscream glared at her while continuing to pace. “What gave it away?” He questioned rhetorically, but silenced her with a glare. “Don’t answer that. That is not what I want to hear. What I would like is answers. Such as where you have disappeared to, traitor.”

Crossblade rolled her optics, groaning. “Cybertron.” She resumed grinning, showing off her newly sharpened fangs. But she stayed silent after that, focusing on trying to remove her knife from its holster without Starscream noticing.

Her answer got her a heel to her gut. “I am not in the mood for humor. You have a lot of explain to yourself.” He growled. “Such as why you defected from the Decepticon cause to join those disgusting Autobots. Perhaps having Claw becoming attached to you was a poor factor.” He held the femme’s chin within his claws, looking at her dead in the optics.

Crossblade hissed in pain, but stared Starscream down. She was pissed, and too angry for her usual anxiety to affect her. “I’ll talk when you grow a spark. So, never.” Her smile fell away, replaced with a scowl.

Starscream cackled. “A spark?! Please, as if your definition of a spark really mattered. It’s useless compared to raw power.” He shrugged, a smirk still evident in his face. “Lord Megatron could have easily given your ‘friend’ that raw power, in exchange for those useless emotions.”

Crossblade sighed, mocking his tone. “Oh, look at me! I’m too cowardly too actually fight, so I’ll trap a femme who I’ve insisted is weak anyway! Blah blah blah blah blah!” She glared back at him, optics burning. “Grow. Up.”

The sudden mock ticked off Starscream, making him growl at her. “You’re telling *me* to grow up? How about we look at you, first?! You cause mischief everywhere you traveled and created a mess with those disgusting sweets! You waste resourceful energon for something small like that candy!”

Crossblade laughed, actually amused. “I didn’t waste energon, I converted my rations into something that kept me fuelled throughout the day. Do your research.” Crossblade chuckled to herself, but was disappointed when the net gave little resistance.

The Decepticon crossed his arms, glaring venomously at her. “You really do act like a sparkling.” He looked the other way. “And to think I even admired you....” He said, mainly to himself, but his optics shot wide open when he realized how loud he was.

Crossblade stopped laughing and coughed, almost choking. When she could breathe, she stared at Starscream, mouth wide open. “What...what the frag did you just say?” She tried to speak, but was dumbstruck by the confession.

“Nothing! You must have something wrong with your audio receptors!” He immediately denied while one of his optics twitched.

Crossblade was silent for a moment, then started to cackle. She was on the brink of tears. In her dangerous situation, this was the funniest damn thing to her. When she noticed him trying to object, she just wheezed through her laughter. “No, no, don’t talk. I can’t take you seriously right now.” Crossblade’s cackles slowly quieted to giggles, then just an amused grin. 

“Seriously, dude? You confess now?”

Starscream growled even more. “I did not confess!” He denied harshly. For a moment, it seemed as if he was saying that mainly to himself.

Crossblade just shook her head sympathetically, her situation practically forgotten. “Frag, Scream. You have worse timing than me.” She smirked, eyeing him.

He seemed confused by what she meant, and that seemed to piss him off a little. “And that’s supposed to mean?” He dared to ask.

She began to internally scream, realizing her own mistake. But she played it cool. “I have a habit of thinking out loud, you’re not the only one. Hey! Since it seems we’re buddies now, how about you let me down from here?” Crossblade regretted the last sentence immediately, but she had already blurted it out.

Starscream glared more at her. “I know when you are deceiving me, Crossblade. If you tell me exactly what you meant, I might consider letting you go and letting you join us again.” He wagered. In reality, it felt like he was just stalling, and wanted to gain answers now.

Crossblade stuck her glossa out, her optics burning. “Why would I go back? To be disrespected and treated like dirt? No thanks.” She snarled at him, her fists clenching as she imagined ripping him apart.

He merely rolled his eyes. “Oh please, as if you didn’t disrespect and treat your superiors like dirt.” Starscream pointed out, rather childishly.

She gasped at his accusation, clearly offended. “Where were you whenever I upgraded Megatron’s weapons by hand? Or carrying loads twice my size because the Vehicons were slacking off and I had a job to do? Slag, I bump into you accidentally and you freaking attack me!” She was yelling now, furious.

Starscream was surprised that she was arguing back, but this prompted him to argue back as well. “Maybe you should have looked where you were going whenever you bumped into me, then! You truly are an infuriating little brat!”

Crossblade was many things, and patient was not one of them. “You little glitch! Have you never self reflected? Ever?! You’re hailed as the most childish little glitch in charge! No one respects you! If I’m a brat, then you’re the queen of brats!”

“I consider that a compliment, and it’s a king, not a queen!” For some odd reason, he felt compelled to correct her. “Say another word, and I will make you regret it!”

Crossblade spat at his pedes, her EM field radiating fury. “I regret very few things in life, and telling the truth isn’t one of them.” She smiled sweetly at him, just to anger him.

Starscream’s ruby eyes twitched at seeing her smile so sweetly. “And I grow tired of your games, Crossblade.” He hissed. “So unless you tell me exactly what I want to know, the only thing Goldenclaw will find is nothing but an empty, sparkless shell of you.” He was unaware of the distant sound of an engine roaring.

Crossblade smiled, then stretched out her servos and sawed open the net. She fell to the ground, and the first thing she did was jump up to slap Starscream. “Glitch.”

Surprised by her sudden escape, he immediately recovered to slap her back. “Piece of scrap.” He retorted back.

She slapped him a second time, just as hard, but on the other cheek. “Monkey wrench.”

It turned into a slapping and insult fight between the deception and femme. It would have lasted forever, had the roaring of the engine not growled louder. From a distance, a lone motorcycle could be seen, but the golden accents were unforgettable.

Crossblade had her palm raised, but stopped when she saw the motorcycle. “Starscream, if I die, tell Megatron he looks like an oversized toaster.” She half-heartedly slapped him, but backed out of GoldenClaw’s range.

At first, the Decepticon was confused by what she meant, before he looked to the side and saw the headlights. All he could squeak out was “Scrap.” Before the motorcycle transformed into Goldenclaw.

“STARSCREAM!!!” The femme roared and tackled him before holding behind his waist and bending backwards. This is what humans call a suplex.

Crossblade stifled more laughter, slapping her knee. When the Con began to scream, she yelled from the sidelines. “Claw! Stop beating up Screamer, you’re not going to believe what he confessed!”

“Really now?!” Goldenclaw gave a look at her friend just as she was in the middle of trying to snap his neck. She did let go and threw him to a random direction before going over to her. “Well, you better tell me on the way back to base then before I release a can of aft-whooping!”

Crossblade nodded, transforming and speeding off to the base. As soon as they were out of range, she told Claw. “He admitted that he liked me. While trying to interrogate me. After I escaped, we didn’t even fight. We just slapped each other, repeatedly.” Crossblade skidded to a stop just before the entrance to the base. She transformed back, grinning wildly. “Isn’t that hilarious?!”

“Wait a second, he didn’t even hurt you? At all???” The femme was confused, but heavily interested by her story. “You two just slapped each other and had a name-calling fight. And I was expecting a bloodbath.”

Crossblade entered the base, smirking. “The net had little electric thingys, but nothing major. That’s literally all we did. That fragging nerd confessed accidentally then tried to cover it up with insults.” She ignored the other bots’ confused stares and leaned against a wall, chuckling.

“Well, it’s good nothing major happened to you.” Goldenclaw sighed while she transformed to her bipedal mode. “But I’m more important matters.” Her magenta eyes flared in anger as she grabbed her small friend and began to shake her. “What made you think sneaking out of the base was a smart idea?!”

Crossblade let Claw shake her. “I dunno. I never make good decisions.” As GoldenClaw shook her, Smokescreen piped up from the background. 

“I am so confused.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starscream, you nerd.


	9. Deserts aren’t as peaceful as you would think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GoldenClaw goes for a little drive.

The kids stayed over for the night, with the excuse that they would stay over at one of their houses for the weekend. Instead, they were at base, watching movies with Bee, Dart, Bulkhead and Arcee. The grown-up bots were somewhere else, but they didn’t mind.  
“So this is what human romance films are? They’re really corny.” Dart commented while leaning on Bee.

Above them, Goldenclaw was watching from afar. She wasn’t watching what they were doing, but rather, watched how her sister and the scout interacted.

Bee buzzed, casually putting his arm around SilverDart’s shoulder. ”Yeah, but the kids like them.” He could feel his spark pulsing, but he enjoyed the close contact with SilverDart. He was pretty sure Arcee was asleep, so he pointed at her silently and beeped, amused.

“And you seem to like them too.” The femme pointed out, then looked to where he was pointing. She giggled and hid it with her servos. “She must have gotten bored from the movies.”

Bee nodded, resting his his head on SilverDart’s. His faceplate was hot, but he had gone too far to stop. 

Crossblade had been banned from leaving the base for a week after the Screamer incident, so she put most of her time into building the Autobots new gear.

She didn’t seem to notice his faceplate get hot, but did purr a little at the contact. Innocently, she cuddled more into Bee.

The affectionate way they acted made Claw feel something within her. It wasn’t a good feeling. With a quiet huff, she carefully scaled down her watchpoint and snuck around to Crossblade’s shop. She had to let someone know she was going out.

Crossblade heard quiet footsteps and opened the door, smiling when she saw GoldenClaw. “What’s up? Ya need something?” She noticed Claw’s demeanour and frowned. Stepping out of the doorway, she waved Claw inside.

The femme shook her head and stepped inside. “I just came to say I’m going for a ride, alone. You know you can join the other bots and humans in their form of entertainment.” She pointed a servo to where they were, but her optics narrowed at seeing Dart laugh at something Bee did.

Crossblade sighed, but gave GoldenClaw a thumbs up. “Have fun, don’t blow your cover.” She saluted Claw jokingly, sticking out her glossa playfully. “And don’t give Dart and Bee such a hard time, they’re cute together.” Crossblade rolled out of her workshop, and joined the others to watch the stupid human movies.

“I won’t.” Goldenclaw grinned, but her mouthguard hid how weak it was. When she looked to the couple, she sighed. “I suppose they are....” She didn’t want to admit it, but they did look cute together. Walking out unnoticed, she transformed into her new alt-mode, a motorcycle, and began to drive. The night was illuminated by the stars and moon, but she couldn’t look at them.  
Something on the way Bee and Dart interacted made her feel envious, and she didn’t understand why. It frustrated and worried her.

 

~~~

 

Soundwave had done something that hasn’t happened in over a millennia. He took a day off. Megatron has given him permission, so now the ever silent mech was walking in the desert. He stared at the sky, thinking of Claw.

The femme drove for what felt like hours. She didn’t follow the path, instead choosing to drive without a road and let the night guide her. She felt lost, like she was missing something. Even though she remembered losing something, it frustrated her to know that she couldn’t remember what was missing. So she drove, not aware of her surroundings; not aware of who was there.

Soundwave paced, unsure how to feel about the traitor. On one hand, he had swore to serve his master for his entire life, on the other, she was a captivating femme with a quick mind and a quicker shot. Ratting her out had gotten her tortured, and caused the best engineer known to the Decepticons to steal her away. He sat down, his slender servos tracing swirls in the sand.

In the distance, the roar of an engine could be heard as Goldenclaw drove faster. Upcoming to a cliff in the desert, she slowed down. Feeling that the coast was clear, she transformed and sighed before sitting on the edge of the cliff. Despite the lonely feeling she felt, it was comforted by the silence.  
Feeling absolute sure that nobody was there, she deactivated something on her helm before pulling it off. Magenta-colored sparks could be seen taking form like hair before she rested the helm on her legs and just sat there, thinking.

Soundwave laid back, watching the stars. He stared at the sky for a few hours, but shot up like a rocket when the distant sound of a motorcycle engine reached his audio receptors. He stood, and released Laserbeak to investigate. The cassette flew quickly, motors humming as it hovered over GoldenClaw.

The femme didn’t notice the cassette fly over her, or if she did, she didn’t care yet. When she heard whirring, she opened her optics to glance up and see Laserbeak. The only reaction she had was those magenta lights shrinking before she placed her helm back on and kept her eyes on the little drone while getting up. “....Why are you here.”

Laserbeak lowered, hovering in front of her face. It then turned and zipped back off to Soundwave, hoping she would follow. Laserbeak landed on his chest, and Soundwave slowly walked in Claw’s direction.

Seeing it fly off, it triggered something in Claw that she would never do. “Slag it, get back here!” She ran for the drone, following it. She asked a question, and wanted an answer. In the distance, she saw him, and slowed down. “.....Soundwave.” Her voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

He awkwardly raised a hand, as if to wave, but then lowered it. He motioned at her, trying to get her to speak. His EM field wasn’t muted like normal, instead he seemed to be pushing his discomfort onto her, making it easier for her to understand.

Goldenclaw glared even more at him, her servos clenching. “If you’re trying to show that you’re sorry about what happened, then that’s a little hard to believe.” She huffed and turned away. “I can’t forget something like that. No matter how much I want to forget.”

Soundwave took a few steps forward, holding his arms open. He was calm, and desperate to hold the assassin once again. To fix his mistake.

At hearing him come closer, the femme tensed and swiped his arms away. “Don’t touch me.” She growled. “What is with you?! You think affection is going to make me forget what you did? What you did to me?! Let me tell you something, Soundwave. I can never forget. I can never forget the conflict I felt when I had to face Megatron on what I committed. I have never felt so humiliated and embarrassed for myself for even considering helping an enemy. But I have never, EVER, felt more betrayed. For a moment, I was scared. I deserved it, and I know I did, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, someone could save me. And I wasn’t saved.” She shut her optics shut to stop the leaking that was begging to flow down, but she can’t show weakness. Not to him.

He immediately backed off, stepping back so he was comfortably far away. Soundwave stared at her for a few seconds, then turned around and opened a groundbridge. As he walked into the bridge, he looked over his shoulder, EM field muted once again.

Goldenclaw felt cold. Unbelievably cold. “....Now I can’t remember what I lost. I knew it was special to me, but I don’t know what it is...” She sighed, trying so hard not to let the tremble in her voice be known. “....Just go. Please.”

She stood in place for a long time, before she willed her legs to walk in the steps he left behind. Every step felt heavy for her. She could only hug herself, feeling even colder than before. For a moment, she saw a flash, then heard her own voice singing and a song playing, before it went away. That broke Claw, as she choked on her sobs and covered her hand to muffle it.

She felt so alone.


	10. Robodad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Optimus is a good father figure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, nothing like fluff to heal the spark!

Optimus was the only Autobot up and about when GoldenClaw returned. He was going to simply greet her and return to his work, but her lowered optics and shambling gait alarmed him. He immediately turned to her, cyan optics bright and gentle. “GoldenClaw, are you alright?”

Goldenclaw had been hugging herself since Soundwave left and she was alone to mourn. She felt numb after a while, even on the travel back to base. The sudden concern made her flinch, but she tried to cover it up. “I’m fine, Optimus. I appreciate your concern.” She nodded, trying to lie her way out again.

Optimus shook his head in disapproval when GoldenClaw tried to lie. “I am rather good at telling when people are lying. What’s the truth?” He rested a hand on her shoulder and looked down at her, head tilted expectantly.

The femme winced, cursing at herself for doing something foolish. She was trying to lie to the leader of the Autobots, and technically, her superior. Feeling that there’s no other way around it, she sighed. “If I told you, you might not approve of the truth.” She warned, optics cast down.

Optimus was silent for a moment, then went and sat on a large couch that Crossblade had built the night before. He patted the spot next to him, waving GoldenClaw over. “We can be vague, but try to get the emotion across.”

She blinked at him, but nodded and sheepishly followed him before sitting down. She stayed silent for a long time before sucking it up. “I’m lost...and a little confused, but mostly lost and hurt.” Claw admitted quietly.

He looked at her, listening intently. “Can you identify why you’re lost?” He inquired, carefully probing at her dilemma. Optimus was being cautious, but GoldenClaw would eventually have to learn to speak openly.

The femme didn’t answer for a moment, thinking of how to say it. “...When I lost my memories, Megatron...he burned away a memory that I felt was precious to me....” She told him, bringing her knees close to her middle frame and sighing. “....I can’t remember what it is, but it involved something with Soundwave. Something important.”

Optimus was silent for a few seconds, staring at the floor as he thought it through. When he did speak, his voice was oddly heavy. “Do you have any idea what kind of memory you lost was?”

Hearing his voice sound heavy and solemn made Claw feel something. She was strong enough to answer quietly, however. “....No.” She shook her head, then chuckled shakily. “Yet, whenever I look at my sister and Bumblebee, I feel even more empty and lost....perhaps even a little envious.”

Optimus sighed, but placed his hand on her shoulder again, EM field calming her subconsciously. “Well, Ratchet believes that your memories can be returned with proper care. However, I suspect that when this memory returns it will dramatically change your relationship with Soundwave.”

The EM field gave Claw a sense of calm and ease. “I hope...” She sighed and glanced away. “I hope that memory will come sooner than later. I can’t understand it but....the more I want to hate him, the more it hurts trying.”

He hugged GoldenClaw into his side, movements gentle. “We’ll fix it, then you might understand your emotions.” He stopped for a moment then chuckled to himself lightly. “I guess I’m adopting another kid.”

The hug made Goldenclaw blink in surprise, but she didn’t refuse it. Rather, she accepted the hug and relaxed. The little comment did crack a smile on her face. “Another? Don’t tell me you see some of the others as your children, do you?” If there was one thing she didn’t forget, it was her father. She saw her father within Optimus, because he had a good spark.

Optimus nodded, smiling at her. “Miko called me ‘Robodad’ after I scolded Bumblebee for punching Smokescreen. Most of them see me as a father.” He gave a small squeeze to GoldenClaw, then released her.

Goldenclaw chuckled. “Well, you remind me of my own father.” She admitted while sitting back on the couch and sighing. Her optics looked for Silverdart, and found her and Bee cuddling. “My sister never met him, but....it’s nice to know she has a parental substitute around, like you.”

Optimus followed Claw’s optics, and smiled when they landed on SilverDart and Bumblebee. “She has grown up quite a bit since she’s joined. I’m glad to be here to see it.” He took a mental photo of the younger Autobot and his scout.

She hummed in agreement before getting up. “Optimus...thank you. Opening up to someone made me feel better.” She thanked, her mouthguard deactivating to smile at him properly before she left to scale up to the ledge.

Optimus smiled at her, then returned to his work once she climbed up. As he sorted through reports and strategized, he couldn’t help but feel proud of Claw’s growth.


	11. Street Racing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note to self: never let Crossblade and SilverDart go anywhere alone.

Another regular night has passed at the base. Claw was recovering well from that night, and was currently watching the little Tia write something for her class tomorrow. Her sister came along, stretching.  
“Man, it gets kinda boring when no cons are around.” She commented. “Who feels like street racing?”

Crossblade, who had been laying on the floor and listening this human music shot up like a rocket, jumping to her feet. “Oh, I have to show everyone my new alt mode!” She grinned, then did a little spin and transformed. Her new alt mode was an old fashioned black motorcycle with purple highlights. As she did donuts excitedly on the base floor she turned on the purple underglow, and the bottom of her alt mode had an ethereal glow.

“Show-off.” Goldenclaw rolled her eyes while looking at the alt-mode. She wasn’t gonna admit it, but the old-fashioned style was pleasing to her optics.  
“Oh that’s cool!” Silverdart gawked and bent down to inspect her form. “It’s even got underglows?!?” She squealed.  
“Crossblade, stop marking up the ground like that!” Ratchet scolded upon seeing her do donuts on the ground.

Crossblade transformed back to her regular form, grinning at Ratchet. ”Sorry, doc. Just showing off my new wheels.” She rolled backwards to the exit, shooting finger guns at the angrily twitching medic. “Yo, I know it’s kind of late, but I’m definitely going racing.”

“I’m going with you too!” Dart joined along and transformed into her black and blue automobile. She turned to her sister, eagerness in her voice. “What about you, Claw? Wanna race?”  
“No.” Her sister immediately refused. “I’m not doing a weird human practice, and someone has to do babysitting duty on Tia.” She looked unamused.

Crossblade scoffed, but turned to the door without Claw. “Suit yourself, then. Dart, let’s go have some fun!” She transformed and revved her engines, waiting for Ratchet to open the door. He huffed, but complied. As soon as the door opened, the two femmes were going as fast as their wheels would take them.

As soon as the door closed, Goldenclaw sighed. “I’m giving it 10 minutes at best.”  
“10 minutes? What happens after that?” Bulkhead questioned her.  
“10 minutes until they get into trouble. Probably 6 with Crossblade’s lights mixed with street racing.”

~~~

GoldenClaw was right, but she overestimated Crossblade. It took them four minutes for a human to call the police because ‘teenagers in fancy vehicles were causing a ruckus at three in the morning.’ 

“Dart, I’d say I’m sorry for catching the cop’s attention, but this is the most fun I’ve had since I slapped Screamer.”

“Wait, you slapped Starscream?! When? Why??” The young femme didn’t even care that they were being chased by the police. She seemed to be having the time of her life.

“Didn’t I tell you about that?” Crossblade drifted, speeding up a little bit to put some distance between her and the police cars. “It was when he captured me! I escaped and the first thing I did was slap him!”

“Hah! I would’ve wanted to see that!” Dart laughed and sped up the vehicle. The police was high on their tail. “You think we should call for back-up now???”

Crossblade suddenly made a U-turn, and began driving at the police cars. As she ramped over the cars and went flying, her voice was somehow nonchalant. “Nah.” She landed, and after getting her balance back she sped off the road and into the desert.

“Wh-Hey wait up!” Dart exclaimed and did a sharp turn backward before following her. “I think we should! Seriously, they’re getting more!”

Crossblade was leaving a trail of dust in her wake, motor roaring. “How many more? Because I don’t want to have to like...fight them...”

“Uhhhhh.....5.” Dart counted before making a decision.  
“Dart to base, we’re currently getting chased!” She commed the base as they all surrounded the screens.  
“Cons?” Arcee frowned, but Goldenclaw shook her head.  
“No. Humans.”

Crossblade slowed so she was beside SilverDart, matching her pace. “Should’ve just called Claw. Quick, drive to that cliff and jump.” Crossblade sped ahead, and ramped off a slanting rock by the edge. As soon as she was out our sight, she transformed and stuck the end of her spear into the rock, slowing her descent to the bottom.

“What are we gonna...do?” Smokescreen was going to question, but Claw already transformed and drove off.  
“Let her go. She seems to know what she is doing.” Optimus called them off, but he was mildly worried for what will happen.

“Alright!” Dart does forward before following Crossblade’s actions. She transformed and shot out two darts before sticking them onto the side of the cliff. “Okay. I think we’re clear.”

Crossblade was silent, looking up at the top of the cliff. The police were shining lights down, but the angle meant they couldn’t spot the mischievous Autobots. Crossblade held up her hand, prompting a high five from SilverDart.

The femme giggled quietly and high fived her before descending down the cliff using her darts. Thankfully, the lights didn’t hit them as they transformed and slowly avoided them. Unfortunately, Crossblade’s alt mode gave her away.

“Stop your vehicles and step away with your hands up!”

A police officer was sticking his head out of the passenger side window with a megaphone. The other police surrounded them, guns aiming at the two femmes. 

“SilverDart, be ready to drive.”

“I’m always ready.” She grinned within her form and revved the engine. Just as they were ready to drive again, another roar of the engine can be heard before a familiar black and gold motorcycle collided head on with one of the police cars.  
“Don’t just stand there! Go!” Claw growled before swerving around to lead her sister and best friend.

Crossblade took the hint and drove as fast as she could to the base, turning off her underglow and disappearing into the night. When she entered, Arcee was standing in front of her with her arms crossed, 

“Really, Crossblade? Four minutes, and you already got the cop’s attention?”

“Hey, at least we didn’t get caught!” Dart argued and glared at Arcee. “And it was fun too.”

“Fun or not, you two dodged a bullet by this much.” Goldenclaw made a motion with her fingers to show how close they were to deep trouble.

Crossblade shrugged, returning to her bipedal mode. “It’s no big deal, no one died.” She strode to the couch and flipped on the television. As she searched for a non-pathetic horror movie, Smokescreen and Bee joined her.

“Yeah! See? No biggie!” Silverdart nodded before joining along with watching the movie. Her sister crossed her arms, looking unamused.  
“I have no idea which I should fear more. Crossblade being a bad influence to my sister, or my sister being a bad influence to my best friend.” She muttered to Arcee.

Arcee shook her head, scowling at the bots on the couch. “Just wait till Smokescreen and Bee join. Optimus will blow a fuse.”

“Well that’s gonna be a sight to behold.” Claw huffed, watching the four young bots have fun with one another. Her eyes did soften, however. “Though, I am glad they’re both safe and out of harm.”

Arcee smiled at the sentiment, glancing at GoldenClaw. She hummed, then yawned and stretched. “Goodnight kids. Don’t stay up too late.” Arcee walked to her room, leaving GoldenClaw with the younger bots.

“Claw! Come watch humans get murdered with us!” Crossblade yelled, turning to look at Claw and making grabby hands at her.

Goldenclaw regained her unamused facade, but she sighed with a little smile and relented. “Fine fine. Move over a seat.” She said before sitting at the right side of the couch and pulling her legs to hug them. Her sister and Bee were cuddling on the floor after all.

Crossblade cheered, and purposely leaned as far onto Claw as she could without totally being on her lap, smiling up at the larger femme. As the movie reached its climax, SilverDart and Bee huddled closer together, making Smokescreen snort.

Claw looked down at her friend and raised a brow before rolling her eyes. She shifted a leg to let Crossblade use it as a pillow.  
Silverdart hummed, a sense of suspense going through her framed as she huddled closer to Bee. “She’s not gonna get out of the manor alive!” She whispered to him.

Bee wrapped his arms around SilverDart, buzzing fearfully. He was staring at the screen, unable to rip his optics away. Smokescreen just gawked at them, jealous that they were so close. Crossblade was smirking at the dumb special effects, almost asleep.

Crossblade looked unamused. She could point out the many flaws in the movie, but chose not to. Instead, she looked to Smokescreen and grinned. “If you’re almost asleep, I’m not the one you should be sleeping on.” She whispered to Crossblade before carefully moving her to the bot with her leg.

Crossblade reached up with surprising speed, grabbing GoldenClaw’s arm. “Try it, i fragging dare you.” Instead of moving, she scooted into GoldenClaw’s lap. “Try me glitch.”

For a moment, the femme was surprised, but she didn’t bother to hide her grin. “Another time, then.” She admitted defeat before relaxing and continuing to watch the movie.  
When it got to a jumpscare, Silverdart made a squeak and hid into Bee’s chest. Her wings dropped downwards and shook terribly.

Bee hugged Dart, shaking with her. When the movie ended with a jumpscare, he beeped loudly and slid back. Both of them were shaking, making Smokescreen sigh.

Goldenclaw looked unphased by the jumpscare before the credits scrolled up. “.....That is the worst human horror film I’ve ever seen.” She commented in the dark.  
“S-Seriously?!” Dart stuttered, not letting go of the yellow bot.

“I agree. Scrapper’s scarier than that, and I built him to be adorable.” Crossblade was cleaning off her servos, not really bothering to look at the screen. Bee just made a buzzing whimper, clinging to Dart.

“O-Okay, n-n-no more h-horror films tonight.” Silverdart stuttered out, looking up at Bee with a sheepish chuckle. Her star-shaped optics shined brightly, even the dimmed one.  
“Speaking of Scrapper, where’s the little runt?” Goldenclaw straightened up to look for the metal canine.

Crossblade flinched, remembering her hasty packing. “...slag. I think he’s still on the Nemesis.” Crossblade got up, and stretched out her back. “That blows.” Smokescreen was confused, and looked at them in question. “Who’s Scrapper?”

“He’s a little canine Crossblade created. Really good canine, might I add.” Goldenclaw explained, but her expression fell when Crossblade told the news. “....Pity.” No one could see it, but the gears in her head were turning.

Crossblade was a little gloomy but smiled when she remembered something. “I still have the code and the blueprints though.” She smiled, then yawned. “I’m heading to bed. Night losers.” She waved, and walked to her berth. Bee and SilverDart stood up from their spot on the floor, still shaking.

Silverdart bid her goodnight before letting go of Bee. “W-Well, I uh....s-should probably sleep t-too.” She giggled, looking up at the scout.

Bee rubbed the back of his helm, and stuck to her side as he led her to her room. He buzzed a shy ‘goodnight’ and fled to his, faceplate hot. Smokescreen gagged dramatically, but was clearly just jealous.

Goldenclaw chuckled, flipping the channels until it fell to a documentary. She didn’t pay attention, however. “You seem rather unfond of their relationship.” She talked to Smokescreen. “Don’t tell me you fancy Dart as well, hm?”

Smokescreen choked on his next sentence, then laughed as he joined GoldenClaw. “Nah, it just feels like they’re rubbing it in my face. I mean, Dart and Bee are definitely a thing, you and I would not mix well and Crossblade clearly has the hots for someone else.” He shrugged, leaning on the side of the couch.

Goldenclaw hummed. “Good point. And you are right, you and I would not mix well.” She chuckled. “However, I see you and Crossblade being a thing. You two are somewhat alike, in a matter of fun and games.”

He shook his head, smirking to himself. “Maybe, but I feel like she has her optics on someone else. I’m not sure who though.” He turned back to the screen, examining the odd creatures on the T.V.

That, Goldenclaw didn’t answer to. She would rather keep that con’s name in secret. Instead, she played along. “Who knows.” She shrugged, merely staring at the screen before it bored her. “I think I’ll take my rest now.”

Smokescreen nodded, turning off the television. “Good plan. Night Claw. Don’t let the scraplets bite.”


	12. Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SilverDart and Bumblebee are adorable, as always.

Bumblebee has gotten up early, and had been looking up the prettiest places on Earth. When he came across a clearing filled with flowers and had a crystal clear stream running through it in Scandinavia, his sparked warmed. 

“Good morning, Bumblebee. What are you researching?” Optimus asked, sipping on his morning energon. Bee beeped his response, optics wide in excitement. “I’m gonna take SilverDart there, it’ll be fun! Could we have the day off?”

Looking from his happy expression to the places he was researching, Optimus smiled with a nod. “I suppose. There has been no Decepticon activity, for a while. Just be careful, understand?” He gave the okay.

Up from the ledge, Goldenclaw listened with a little grin. Looks like there’s gonna be a little date between her sister and the scout.

Bee jumped up, beeping in joy. The yellow mech ran to SilverDart’s room, knocking on her door rapidly. He was fidgeting, and it seemed he was nervous about asking Dart out. 

Crossblade has just gotten up, and when she saw Bee in front of SilverDart’s door she grinned. “Tell me when you want the ring made, Bumblebee.” She chuckled and walked over to the main room where she began to process her energon into candy.

Dart woke up to the sound of her door knocking. She stretched for a moment before opening the door. Her surprise was evident when she looked up to see Bee. “Bumblebee! Good morning.” She smiled, optics brightening at his face. “What’s up?”

Bee poked his index servos together anxiously and looked away. “Would you like to go out with me? I found somewhere really pretty and secluded.” His buzzes were shaky, but luckily he didn’t stutter.

The sudden request made Dart squeak, her faceplates heating up until they were visible. “S-Sure!” She nodded eagerly closing her door and hugging Bee. “Where are we going?”

Bee took her hand and led her into the main room, pointing at the perfect picture on the screen. Optimus was smiling at them, already putting the coordinates into the groundbridge.

At seeing the picture, Dart’s spark felt brighter. It looked like such a pretty place from the picture. Once the groundbridge was set in motion, she waved at Optimus before running with Bee through the portal.

When they landed in the clearing, Bee was surprised. It looked even better in person! The grass was soft, with small flowers growing in patches. The stream had a few ducks in it, and the tips of snow capped mountains could be seen over the trees.

The view delighted Dart, as she squealed and let go of his hand. “Bee, this is beautiful!” She looked to him with a wide and happy smile. The first thing that caught her attention was were the patches of flowers, making her kneel and look at them closer. “They have such pretty flowers here.”

Bee kneeled next to her, and began to pick a few flowers. As he weaved the flowers together, his spark warmed. Soon he had a crown of blue, lilac, and white flowers. He gently set the crown on Dart’s head, EM field pushing happiness onto Dart.

Dart hummed when she felt something on her head, before carefully taking it off her. When she saw it was a flower crown, her optics brightened even more. “Aw Bee! This is for me?” She looked to him, then laughed and placed it on her head. “How’d you know how to make one?” She asked while leaning on him.

Bee’s faceplate warmed when she cuddled him, but he responded despite his embarrassment. “Rad taught me.” He put his arm around her shoulders, engine humming.

“Raf? That’s sweet of him.” Dart giggled, leaning onto Bee while picking several flowers. “Can you teach me how to make one too?”

Bee took her hands and showed her the motions, weaving the first part of the crown. When she figured out how to, he just cuddled her while she made another crown.

The femme gulped, faceplate heating more when her hands were guided by his own. She thanked him meekly before making the crown on her own. “How does it look so far?” Since it was her first crown, it didn’t look at beautiful as Bee’s, but she is certainly trying her best.

Bee buzzed in approval, gently correcting some of her motions. His faceplate was hot too, but he was growing more confident as he leaned into her.

Dart thanked him again for his help before finishing the crown. It was made up of yellow, white and blue flowers. Once it was finished, she turned to look at Bee before placing it on him. “There you go! One from me, one from you!” She laughed, facing him completely.

Bee froze when she placed crown on his head, faceplate visibly heated. He then jumped forward and embraced SilverDart, hugging her as tight as he could.

She squeaked, falling back along with the bot. That didn’t stop her from laughing warmly. Finding the courage to do something daring (for her), she brought a servo to the side of his face and met her forehead with his. Her hums and purrs could be heard.

Bee froze when when she touched the side of his face, but replicated the touch with his hands. He nuzzled their foreheads together, buzzing happily. He then rolled into his back, setting Dart down beside him so the could lay next to each other.

Once Dart was beside him, she shifted a little closer and hugged the bot while looking up. “This is such a wonderful date.” She beamed at him. “Thank you for taking me here, Bee.” She made another daring move, and kissed the side of his faceplate.

Bumblebee froze, vocalizer box glitching as he tried to process what just happened. He slowly reacted for her hand, taking her hand and holding it like it was his lifeline. He turned to her, and quickly kissed her lip plates.

Her hand curled around his, as if it was treasure to her. When she met his eyes, she didn’t take the time to react before she felt his lip plates on hers. Dart made a little squeak, but relaxed and kissed him back. Her spark beat louder and quicker. It was the best feeling she’s ever had. Sadly, they had to pull back, but her face was completely filled with color.

Bee just looked into her optics for a while, then coughed lightly. “We...should get back...” He beeped softly, still holding her hand.

Dart could only hum in agreement. No words could yet process how flustered and slightly giddy she felt. She took a hold of Bee’s hand as he helped her get up, but she didn’t let go. She just kept on smiling at him. “Thank you for the date, Bumblebee.” The femme thanked him while hugging him.

Bee hugged her back, engines revving in excitement. He commed Ratchet, and the bridge opened up in front of them. As they stepped through, all optics were on them and everyone was grinning.

“Welcome back.” Goldenclaw greeted, grinning at her sister while she leaned on the wall. “Enjoyed your date?”  
All her sister did was hum in embarrassment and hide a little behind Bee. That didn’t mean she let go of his hand.

Bulkhead chuckled at the two lovebirds, grinning. Arcee was nodding her head in approval, and they could’ve sworn they saw Optimus mouth ‘I ship it.’


	13. Arachnid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soundwave has a nightmare, and GoldenClaw starts to feel.

Time passed, and things were starting to feel much easier for Goldenclaw. She still envied her sister and Bee’s relationship, but it wasn’t as prominent as how much she adored and admired the two together. She still felt a little lost sometimes, but it never bothered her.

Back on the Nemesis, Soundwave was alone in his berthroom, staring at the wall. When he fell asleep, an odd dream overtook him.

He was back on Cybertron, in the midst of a battle. But as he walked through, he was ignored. As he examined his surroundings, the sound of a fight attracted him to a clearing.

When night passed, Goldenclaw fell asleep in her berth without any complaint. However, she opened her eyes to something off.

She was on Cybertron, in one of bloodiest skirmishes she was caught in. She could feel her legs run, but Claw couldn’t understand why. That was until she was tackled and pinned by an old enemy of hers. She had to fight back against her.

Arachnid.

Soundwave followed the noise, but was shocked when he saw GoldenClaw. Fighting...Arachnid? He stepped forward and tried to pull the wretch off of Claw, but his servos passed through her.

Instinct took over Claw as she head-butted the femme and jumped away. The war happening behind her and around her was blurring away. It was as if she focused on stopping Arachnid. So, she did. She fought the dark femme with her spark.  
But something felt wrong.

Soundwave attempted to shoot Arachnid’s back, but the blast simply charred the wall above GoldenClaw’s head. He stepped cautiously around Arachnid, placing himself between the spidery femme and Claw. She ignored him, staring through his chassis at Claw.

The fight went on for what felt like hours. No matter how much Claw tried to kick and hit at Arachnid, she was always one step ahead of her. The femme was getting exhausted, yet she tried to persist. Unfortunately, her persistence would be her downfall. When she made a kick for the femme, Arachnid made a grab for her heel  
Before twisting it sharply.

Arachnid has snapped GoldenClaw’s ankle, cackling while she scratched at Claw and broke more of her joints. Soundwave tried again and again to attack Arachnid, but his slender servos couldn’t touch her. He began to panic. He hadn’t felt this helpless in millennia, yet watching someone who was supposed to be his enemy being killed brought him to his knees.

A scream echoed in the battlefield, but no one could hear it. Claw tried to crawl away from the mad femme, but there was no escape. She merely shot webbing at her other leg, or what was left of it, before dragging her back.  
“Pitiful. You’re called the Top Assassin of the Decepticons, yet here you are, wriggling and weeping underneath me.” The spider purred, brushing a finger on Claw’s face while all she could do was whimper.  
Fear was evident in her face. She tried to call for someone, anyone, to help her.

Soundwave reached off with all of his power, and pushed Arachnid away. As the insane femme was thrown away, the battlefield began to fade away, leaving him with Claw in a grey void. He ran up to her, cradling her face in his hands.

Just as she felt as if it was the end for her, the weight of Arachnid was lifted off her. Claw opened her optics, but the loss of energon in her body was made her vision faint. She could see a familiar shape, and reached to touch his face. “S.....Sound....wave....?”

Soundwave embraced GoldenClaw, desperate to comfort her. He lifted her up, standing her on her feet. If this was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up.

The weak and dying femme held onto the Decepticon like he was life support. She had to lean on him while trying to talk and say something. However, nothing was said. All she could do was hold onto Soundwave as the dream began to end.  
As much as she wanted to despise him, she didn’t want to let go of him.

Soundwave began to fade away, still holding onto Claw like his life depended on it. When he woke up, his spark was pulsing and he was shaking. He breathed deeply, shivering at the hyper-realistic nightmare. As he tried to calm down, he couldn’t help but feel lost.

Goldenclaw’s optics shot wide open as she jumped up from her berth. Looking around, she was in her room, with no Cybertron, no Arachnid, and....no Soundwave. The aftereffects of the dream were still there, however. Her hand went to her leg and found that it was there, and so is the phantom pain. She could still feel where Soundwave held onto her and hugged herself before beginning to shake.  
She felt cold and lost.

Soundwave laid back down, the image of the dying femme ingrained in his processor. As he drifted back to a dreamless sleep, his last coherent thought was “I’ll make it up to, GoldenClaw.” 

Soundwave slept like the dead for the rest of the night.


	14. The Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream really needs to think his plans through sometimes.

Crossblade was on patrol, driving slowly around town. After a few hours, she returned to the base. “Ugh, still no cons. It’s boring without them.” Crossblade flopped on the couch, pulling out a candy to suck on.

“I gotta admit it. Yeah, it is boring.” Goldenclaw sighed with a nod. “I wonder what they’re doing these days. I would’ve expected an attack since we both defected.”

Crossblade grunted, staring at the ceiling. ”I dunno, but it’s suspicious.” She sat up to look at Claw, frowning to herself. “Do you think they’re planning something?”

Goldenclaw sat at the side of the couch and didn’t answer for the longest time. “.....They could be.” She answered. “What they’re planning on, I’m not exactly sure of.”

Crossblade groaned, flopping back down. “Whatever. I just want to slap Screamer again.” She smiled to herself. 

“You shouldn’t look for a fight with the Decepticons, Crossblade.” Arcee chastised, shaking her head.

“Well....slapping one of them was pretty amusing.” Goldenclaw shrugged. “But I do agree with Arcee. Looking for a fight isn’t the wisest choice. Then again, you don’t make wise choices and that’s a fact.”

Crossblade giggled, craning her neck to smirk at them. “Damn straight I don’t make good decisions. How do you think I ended up with the cons in the first place?” Arcee facepalmed and was about to scold her when Optimus commed in.

“Optimus to base, requesting backup.”

Goldenclaw completely forgot that Optimus went out to patrol. It seems he was in trouble. “Optimus, what’s your status?” She asked while watching Ratchet reset the coordinates to the leader’s position.

His voice was strained, as if he was struggling to hold someone back. “Vehicons are swarming me, and I would prefer help. Two more would be nice.” Crossblade sat up, pulling her spear out and walking to the bridge. “I’m down. Claw, you coming?”

The femme looked unamused, but grinned and quickly went get her rifle and cannon. “I need a stress reliever.”  
Arcee sighed, exasperated. “You two are so unpredictable.” She commented under her breath while watching them leave.

Crossblade twirled around to shoot finger guns at Arcee, winking. “Yep, pretty much!” She jumped through the bridge, and skewered the first con that got in range.

Goldenclaw already had her rifle raised and shot the con approaching her. When she took sight of Optimus struggling with the cons, she took aim. “Optimus, hold still.” She secretly commed him before taking headshots.

Optimus froze, and Cons began to drop like flies around him. Crossblade whooped as they began to retreat, focused on cutting down a vehicon in font of her. She sliced his head off, but a clawed hand grabbed her shoulder and covered her mouth, dragging her out of the building they were fighting in.

The femme hit a con with the end of her rifle before looking around. “I think that’s all of them. We’ll need to retreat for now.” She looked to her leader before comming the base for a bridge. Midway, however, her optics shrunk. “Where’s Crossblade?”

Crossblade was outside, struggling to pull her attacker’s hands off. When she finally ripped herself from their grip and whirled to face him, she was shivering from the cold. But that didn’t stop her from radiating red-hot fury. 

“Starscream! What the fuck?!”

“Nice to see you too. I see you’re getting accustomed to human culture.” The con grinned, enduring the cold that was getting stronger. “You still have questions you need to answer and I intend to hear them.” He pointed a clawed finger at her.

Crossblade groaned, facepalming. “No, I don’t think you do.” She turned on her heel, frowning when she realized that her wheels had already seized up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have con aft to kick.” She began to walk back, growling to herself.

“Hah! In this weather? You won’t even make it back to your allies.” Starscream boasted, though he was one to talk. The blizzard looked to get stronger with every second. It seems that even he wouldn’t be able to transform or call for a bridge back to the Nemesis.

Crossblade threw her arms up, turning back to him. “Do you have a better idea?!” Her left leg was frozen from the knee down, frost forming on the metal. She began to limp, and hissed in pain.

He growled and looked around for any place that could be useful. Seeing a nearby abandoned warehouse, Starscream eased up a little and began to walk towards it. Looking back to the femme, however, he pinched in between his faceplate before rushing back to help support Crossblade and bring her with him.

Crossblade sputtered when he grabbed her, weakly pushing him away. “F-frag off! I don’t want your help!” Crossblade’s leg hurt like hell, but her pride was stronger. She wrenched herself out of his grip, stumbling in the snow.

“Well then, do you want to freeze over here and die?!” Starscream questioned, starting to get frustrated with Crossblade. He couldn’t stand her right now. With little energy he had, he walked forward to the warehouse.

Crossblade cursed under her breath, running to his side as fast as she could in her weak state. “I didn’t say I wasn’t coming with you. C’mon, we’re almost there.” Crossblade wrenched the door open, and almost collapsed as soon as she entered the slightly warmer warehouse.

He pulled the door shut and slid down the door. Starscream knew he should’ve checked for extra details before planning this. Looking around the warehouse, he couldn’t see any machinery that could provide him a source of warmth.

Crossblade slid to the ground, hugging her legs to her chest. “Well, this was a mistake. I don’t have any of my tools, so it’s not like a could make a space heater or something.” She shivered violently, joints creaking.

He growled at the news. This would have been easier if there wasn’t a blizzard. Even inside the warehouse, he could barely move without hearing his own joints creak. There was another way to provide warmth, but Starscream did not want to even think of it.

Crossblade looked up at him suspiciously, frowning. “You look like you just thought of something disgusting. Spill.” She rubbed her hands together, trying to use friction to warm up.

Looking at Crossblade, Starscream growled and looked away. “I would rather prefer I say nothing.” He refused.

Crossblade sighed, glaring at him. “There’s a high possibility we’re gonna die, so just spill it.”

He didn’t answer for the longest time, before sucking it up and glaring back at her. “I may know a method that can help in our frozen predicament.”

Crossblade brightened immediately, grinning in surprise. “Seriously? Well, whatever it is, I’m down. I don’t want to freeze to death.” She curled up a bit tighter subconsciously, ignoring the extreme cold.

Immediately after she agreed, Starscream inhaled sharply. This was going to bruise his pride, but it was for survival. Without warning, be grabbed Crossblade and pulled her to him before wrapping his arms around her. He had to struggle to keep the heat from his faceplate.

Crossblade’s breath hitched, her faceplate hot as well. As she slowly relaxed into his hold and let their combined body heat keep them both warm, she scowled. “If our survival didn’t depend on this I would’ve killed you for this.”

“Not if I killed you first.” He shared the same expression with her and stood still. The body heat they radiated seemed to be working, as he felt the chill on his form slowly go away, but he didn’t say anything.

Crossblade took his hands, using his large hands to warm hers. She leaned back against him, optics closed. “Primus, you’re such a child. Why do I care about you again?” Her frame was now comfortably warm, but her faceplate was too hot.

He tensed up when she took his hands into hers, but relaxed after the feeling went away. His optics did open up when he heard her, which prompted him to smirk. “Did I hear correctly? You care for me? Touching.”

Crossblade growled, her sharp servos scratching his hand. “You admitted first, you aft. Don’t get all high and mighty with me.” She curled her legs to her chest, slowly unfreezing them.

Starscream winced at her scratched, but he hid it quickly with a growl before looking away. “I’m not the one expecting you to reciprocate.” He muttered, before sighing. “Though I will admit your confession is a first.”

She was silent for a minute, staring at the floor. When she did speak, she leaned her up against his chest and looked up at Starscream, smiling sadly. “I am rather unpredictable.” She released his hands and pulled hers to her chest.

The con glanced down at her, and sighed. “You always have been.” There was animosity in his tone. Rather, he leaned his head on top of Crossblade while holding her closer. Even though he had questions needed to be answered, he found this moment more satisfying than that.

She snorted a little when he rested his chin on her head, smiling. Crossblade took his hand, but linked her fingers with his instead of just using them to warm up. “So...how have you been?” She asked awkwardly, faceplate heating up again.

He glanced at the femme before sighing. “Same as I have always been. Absolutely livid.” The con admitted before chuckling and informing her some something important. “Lord Megatron is rather furious that his best engineer and top assassin have gone missing.” Though, after, he grew silent. “Why did you defect from the Decepticons?”

Crossblade’s voice was softer than usual, but she responded quickly. 

“When I served Megatron, I was forced to isolate myself to get projects done. When I finally make I friend I’m punished for helping her? Then she’s tortured for having emotions? It just wasn’t right.”

Starscream didn’t say anything after a while. He made a curt “Hm.” Before closing his optics. It was unclear whether he would respond to that in a critical manner, however his EM Field radiated Of something foreign.

Trust.

Crossblade felt his EM field, and realized that she had muted hers. Slowly, carefully, she let her EM field radiate from her small frame. She was tranquil, at least for the moment. 

“Why do you care about me?”

Starscream opened an optic, relaxing at feeling her EM Field. “I don’t have an answer for that.” He answered quietly. He was unsure himself, on why he cared about a rogue. “However, after your departure, the sectors of the Nemesis felt more....empty and quiet.”

Crossblade glanced up at him, smiling sadly. “Yeah, I kinda made the place more chaotic than Megatron approved of, didn’t I?” Crossblade turned onto her side, feeling her optics slide shut.

He hummed with a nod. “Chaotic But....somewhat tolerable.” The con gave a small, almost unnoticeable smile. “It even got to a point where even Soundwave requested to take some time off, which is surprising for all of us.”

Crossblade giggled, not noticing the cold anymore. “Really? Man, I thought he just ignored all of us.” Crossblade then took a risk, and allowed herself to snuggle into Starscream. “Have any more questions, Screamer?”

Starscream couldn’t hide the heat in his faceplate anymore with such a daring move. With a shaky sigh, he shook his head. “None at the moment.” He answered and looked out of a window. It was getting darker. “.....Rest. You will need the energy if we manage to survive this wretched weather.”

Crossblade reached up and poked the centre of his faceplate, smirking to herself. “You too, Starscream. Try not to die.” She finally closed both of her optics, and went silent. Crossblade didn’t dare to let herself fall asleep, but just closing her eyes and staying still made her feel better.

The con grumbled at her mischievous action before closing his eyes and pulling her close. “....What happens in here, stays in here.” He stated before resting. It would take a while before assistance will arrive.

It had been a couple hours, but Ratchet has finally managed to locate Crossblade’s life signal through the storm. He activated the groundbridge, and set up his medical equipment. Optimus, GoldenClaw and Bulkhead rushed through, ready to find their friend.

After listening to Optimus’ direction on where to search, Goldenclaw didn’t hesitate to rush and find. The hours that passed, she needed her sister to hold her in one place while she burned herself from the panic. As she ran through the abandoned area, she caught sight of footprints leading to a warehouse.

Crossblade had opened her optics, and panicked when she saw that Starscream was still silent. Quickly checking Starscream’s vital signs, her own spark pounded. When she felt his, she sighed in relief. Cuddling back up to him, she closed her optics again and fell into her trance.

Unfortunately, that trance broke when Claw kicked the door opposite from the two. “Cross?” She let her eyes adjust to the dark before seeing the position the two were in. That immediately got her to lower her weapon and walk over. Surprisingly, Starscream didn’t wake from that. He must’ve been heavily exhausted.

Crossblade opened one optic, then squeaked when she saw Claw. She scrambled to her feet, shaking Starscream awake. “Wake up, Screamer! We have a visitor!” Crossblade looked over at Claw, grinning guiltily.

The con blinked and let his optics adjust before he caught sight of Goldenclaw. His first instinct was to aim a missile at her, which in turn, she aimed her rifle. Oddly enough, he even held an arm in front of Crossblade, as if to protect her.  
“I’m picking up my friend, thank you very much.” Claw stated, not surprised he would react that way.

Crossblade carefully pushed Starscream’s arm down, left optic twitching. “Uh...hey, Claw. Funny seeing you here!” She turned to face GoldenClaw, sidestepping to place herself between Starscream and GoldenClaw. “W-what’s up?”

Goldenclaw raised a brow. “What’s up? That’s all you have to say after going missing for hours?” She asked sarcastically. “We’re heading back to base.” She looked from her friend to her enemy before grinning. “What have you two been doing while you went missing?”

Crossblade scowled, crossing her arms and glaring at Claw. “Surviving, you moron. Say anything about it and I will kill you in your sleep.” She stepped towards Claw, but waved at Starscream. “Later, Starscream.”

The femme merely nodded before bolstering her rifle back on her back. “Alright then.” She nodded before turning the other way. She did glance at the con, who merely glared back at her and looked away. Too bad she saw his faceplate heating up.  
“.......Did you two get intimate?” Claw smirked down at her friend. It might cost her spark but it was worth it.

Crossblade choked on a breath, then punched Claw’s side. Hard. “Absolutely not! Who do you take me for?!” A groundbridge opened up in front of them, so Crossblade jumped through as fast as she could.

As soon as they were gone, another bridge opened behind Starscream. He stepped back onto the Nemesis.

The most that did was knock some air out of Claw, but she did get a laugh from it. After informing Optimus and Bulkhead that she found her comrade, she stepped into the bridge, amused with herself.

As soon as he got onto the Decepticon ship, Starscream placed a servo where his spark was.  
For the first time, he felt a certain warmth for someone.

Crossblade stormed into the base, pointing a finger at Claw. “You saw nothing.” She mouthed, then rolled into her workshop as fast as she could. The other Autobots ignored her, used to her antics.

All she did was grin and activate her mouthguard. Her secret was always kept safe with her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for sticking around through our oc hell! Remember to give Keo a follow on Tumblr!


End file.
